CORPORATE SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY IN
BANGLADESH:
PRACTICE AND
PERPETUITY

Promoting Safety, Enforcing Rights

Corporate Social Responsibility in Bangladesh:

Practice and Perpetuity

Supported by

Published by

Promoting Safety, Enforcing Rights

Corporate Social Responsibility in Bangladesh:

Practice and Perpetuity

Researcher
Rumana Sobhan Porag
Safety and Rights Society
Published by
Safety and Rights Society
14/23 Babor Road (4th floor)
Block B, Mohamadput
Dhaka 1207
Tel: +88 02 - 9119903-4
Mobile: +88- 01193 200207, +88- 01191 797414
www.safetyandrights.org
[email protected]
Date of Publication
January, 2014
Copyright
Safety & Rights Society
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ISBN : 978-984-33-6453-1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to express our appreciation to the following individuals and organisations, without whose
support this research would not be possible to accomplish.
Our appreciation goes to the business leaders who provided their valuable time in sharing their
views and CSR practices, and for the in-depth discussions on the current situation and ways and
means of improving CSR practice in Bangladesh. We were encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by
the private sector and their willingness to meet with us and share their experience, often at very
short notice. Without the support from these leaders, our study would not have been possible.
We would particularly like to thank Mr. Santos Datta Joint Secretary of the Bangladesh Employers
Federation, who personally communicated with their listed companies and has briefed them about
the research.
We would also like to thank the support given by factory workers who were open and willing to
share their work experience in those respective companies.
We are also grateful to Diakonia who encouraged us to initiate this research work and supported us
both financially and technically. We are thankful to Ms Khodeza Sultana Lopa, Mr. Md. Mazharul
Islam and other staff at DIAKONIA who helped us to organize the research and were always
available for discussion. Finally, we are acknowledging our gratitude to all who have supported in
different stage of the research from planning to report writing.
This research has given us deeper insight into the Bangladeshi business environment and enabled
us to gain valuable experience.
Thank you.
Rumana Sobhan
Research Officer
Safety and Rights Society

CONTENTS
Executive Summary
1
Introduction
1.1 Bangladesh Economy
1.2 Research Aims
1.3 The main objectives
1.4 Justification of the study
1.5 Methodology
1.6 Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility
2
Literature Review
3
Findings
3.1 Summary of Findings of the Research
4
Recommendations
5
Reference
6

Annexure
7.1 Annex :
7.2 Annex :
7.3 Annex :
7.4 Annex :
7.5 Annex :

Examples of CSR Practices companies in Bangladesh

Responsible Person's address
Semi Structured Questionnaire (Responsible Person & Worker)
50 Company's Address
List of Abbreviations

6
7
7
8
8
8
9
9
14
16
16
22
23
25
25
46
47
51
54

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The aim of this research was to assess the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
practices of some local and foreign companies operating in Bangladesh. The research specifically
focused on the extent to which companies practicing CSR complied with basic legal labour
standards involving their employees.
The research involved identification of companies providing CSR, obtaining information about the
details of the CSR practices adopted at these companies (though looking at their website and
interviews) and an assessment of how well these companies complied with basic labour standards.
The research found that most CSR practicing companies practiced CSR in their own specific way,
and that few companies have separate units for providing CSR or get advice from CSR experts. It
was often unclear how much money companies spend on CSR and it also found that many of these
companies, whilst providing CSR, did not comply with the law in providing basic labour standards
to their employees.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of business is to make money. However, the profit motive is sometimes viewed as less
than virtuous because it emphasizes self-interest. Nevertheless, self-interest is not the same as
selfishness, which emphasizes one's own interests at others' expense. Self interest is simply a
concern for financial reward and is arguably necessary if society is to be maximally productive and
efficiently allocate its resources (Geoffrey P. 2002).
Profit rewards hard work and innovation, incentives that most people need because otherwise it
would be irrational to save and invest rather than consume. Consequently business organizations
cannot operate successfully without the cooperation of the society in which it is located.
Businesses should assume social responsibilities because they are among the few private entities
that have the resources to do so. The corporate world has some of the brightest minds in the world
and it possesses tremendous financial resources (Ahamed 2010). Thus, businesses should utilize
some of their human and financial capital in order to "make the world a better place."
Mohammad Sanaullah, Director, Corporate Affairs & Company Secretary of Singer Bangladesh said,
'Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the new dimensions in corporate management once if
the focus was on financial Management. Most of that time people were saying that maximization
of profit is the main objective of the company but in modern times we do not speak like that. We
feel that the company's corporate management's main objective is to achieve the corporate goal
and incentives as well. Whenever you have to achieve the corporate goal you think about the
stakeholder's interest and at the same time the corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social
Responsibility is for progressive companies and definitely they will look after the under privileged
people, the distressed people and those who don't have the capacity to survive in this society'.

1.1 Bangladesh Economy

Bangladesh is a developing country, with per capita income of just about $1,300 US/year.
Nevertheless, the economy is growing rapidly, with a 5-6% annual growth rate from 1996 to 2008
(BMZ, 2010). The economic growth has averaged roughly six percent since 2004. However, the
economic development is one of the prime factors, which can resolve many of its current
problems. The growth of businesses the market economies have created great opportunities for
Bangladesh for further development. Economic development refers to changes that affect a local
economy's capacity to create wealth for local residents (Kane & Sand 1988 seen Rahaman 2011).
From 1990 Bangladesh commenced a move towards a free market economy. A floating exchange
rate mechanism was introduced from 2003. Yet the capital market in Bangladesh is
underdeveloped. The market lacks appropriate laws, transparency and the corporate disclosure
system is faulty. It provides little protection to minority share holders' rights and often action
against listed companies is difficult.
Although the country is moving towards a free market economy neither government nor private
initiatives have been sufficient to promote good corporate governance leading to an acceptable
level of corporate social responsibility. As a member of the global economy, Bangladesh is also
aware of the need to take positive initiative to establish an image of environmentally and socially
responsible businesses.

CSR as a concept is being gradually interwoven into the psyche of local business, however, the
process is slow and only in its infancy. The primary and most important benefit from implementing
mechanisms such as a code of corporate governance is likely to be felt at the national level with an
improved global perception of Bangladeshi business procedures including improved ethical
business practices. In turn, this could lead to a process of revitalization of the Bangladeshi economy.
Many of the companies carrying out CSR activities are members of textile associations such as the
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh
Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Though the government has no
explicit policy on CSR, Bangladesh Bank has made it mandatory for Banks to practice CSR, and some
of the ministries, such as the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Information, are
encouraging private industry to engage in CSR activities, which are also tax deductible.
Companies also enjoy the support of two private institutions with CSR expertise: the Bangladesh
Enterprise Institute (BEI) and the CSR Center Bangladesh. The BEI facilitates partnerships and
programs in the private sector that are working to achieve Bangladesh's development goals, and it
also organizes the local Global Compact network. According to the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute
(2004) there are numerous potential benefits and rewards for Bangladesh by improving corporate
governance, including corporate social responsibility, practices. Moreover companies are not
adequately implementing social and environmental standards and provides tools to help them
improve their performance. It also serves as a network for the exchange of views and experiences.
Both institutions provide a good contact point for companies seeking to become involved in CSR
activities in Bangladesh (CSR WeltWeit 2012).

1.2 Research Aims

Safety and Rights are committed to promote safety and enforcing rights of the workers and
distressed people of the country.. Safety and Rights Society's principal objective is to ensure that
the overall conditions faced by people at work are decent and are at very least in compliance with
the law. Corporate social responsibility is a tool that is claimed to be able to provide benefits both
to workers, over and above what they are entitled by law, and to the local community affected by
the business.

1.3 The main objectives

The purpose of this qualitative exercise is to find out the extent and the kind of CSR practice by
companies in Bangladesh and make recommendations for establishing a national framework to
advance CSR in the country.

1.4 Justification for the study

There is an increase in the quest for social responsibility from the business sector because of its
importance to the development of any country (Terungwa, 2011). Therefore, corporate social
responsibility is not a threat to achievement of economic goals of a corporation; rather CSR is an
opportunity and can be the basis of economic development of firms in terms of competitive
advantage in global market (Belal, 2008). It is consequently needful for companies to be socially
responsible so as to build their reputation, which may in turn affect their consumers' patronage.
This research can find the condition of CSR projects in the companies and give recommendation to
the government to make a rule which will be mandatory by all profitable companies.

1.5 Methodology
The research on Corporate Social Responsibility was conducted over a seven months period
between June and December 2012. The methodology used to conduct the study was a
combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis based on face-to-face interviews using a semi
structured questionnaire comprising 21 questions. This questionnaire included sections regarding
company data, and dealt with a broad range of sustainability aspects such as charitable giving, CSR
and human resource Management, drivers for CSR .
The participating companies were chosen from the group of larger national and multinational
companies. Fifty companies from different sectors listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange, was chosen
as the sample for this study, to find out the extent of the use of corporate social responsibility
activities by companies in Bangladesh. We randomly selected the companies from 12 sectors in
business. Banks-5, Food & Allied-4, Engineering- 5, Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals-5, Services & Real
Estate- 4, Tannery Industries- 5, Textile- 5, Telecommunication- 2, Fuel & Power- 5, Insurance- 5, and
Fin Institutions- 5. An inquiry letter was sent to all the fifty companies to findout whether they have
any CSR activities or not to select our fixed sample of twenty companies. Our targeted respondents
were Managers of Corporate Communication Division for each company.
After we had established whom to contact, we wrote to them in the last week of July 2012 to
obtain their assistance for our research. We mentioned three points; did they undertake any
corporate social responsibility; why did they undertake those activities; and how the company and
beneficiary were benefited from these activities. We asked them to respond by a particular date (14
August 2012). The companies which did not respond were contacted a number of subsequent
times.
Apart from the semi-structured interviews we had also obtained information from the annual
reports and the websites.
Very few companies had responded to our call and we wrote to BKMEA, BJPA, BTMA, BEF, BFLPEA,
BFWE, BACI, BAPI, REHAB, BGMEA on 27 August 2012, to see if they could provide the name and
address of at least 10 of their affiliated member organizations that have CSR related activities in
Bangladesh. Only BEF (Bangladesh Employers Federation) responded to our letter and the joint
secretary had personally communicated with their member companies and briefed them about
the research. He played a vital role in selecting the companies to be interviewed in our research.
Finally, we were able to select fifteen companies and obtained the information regarding the CSR
activities of those companies.
In the mean time, we also interviewed the worker's of that targeted companies. We wanted to
discover whether or not the companies, whiles providing CSR, were also complying with sthe law
on basic workplace standards.

1.6 Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

"There is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use it resources and
engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of
the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or
fraud" by Milton Friedman in 2012 Good reads Inc

There is no universally accepted definition of CSR. There are different type of views on what CSR is
and what it is not. Having become a buzzword in boardrooms and the media, CSR is more often
misunderstood as giving back to the society and considered to be synonymous with philanthropy.
The dominant school of thought is that CSR is no philanthropic activity and a business must earn
for what it invests. The company does it for its own long term good. Drawing a parallel with
Publicity and Public Relations it is argued that philanthropy could earn publicity but CSR, like Public
Relations is a long term investment with assured returns. It advocates that CSR constitutes a series
of initiatives taken by a company in its enlightened self-interest.
It would be motivating to derive a meaning of the concept with the dissection of each of the
words. CSR is not a difficult concept and can be explained as:

Corporate - means organised business;

Social - means everything dealing with people, the society at large;

Responsibility - means accountability between the two.

Some people define CSR as meaning open and transparent business practices that are based on
ethical values and respect for employees, communities and the environment. It is designed to
deliver sustainable value to the society at large as well as to the shareholders. Now, there is no
single, commonly accepted definition of CSR, even across global corporate bodies. It refers to
business decision making linked to ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect
for people, communities and their environments. CSR is seen as more than a collection of discrete
practices and occasional gestures or initiatives motivated by marketing, public relations or other
business benefits. Rather, it is viewed as a comprehensive set of policies, practices and programmes
that are integrated throughout business operations and decision-making processes.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a reality of recent decades. CSR is the continuing
commitment of business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while
improving the quality of life of the workforce and their family as well as of the local community and
society at large. Business owes its responsibilities towards society; first as a result of the impact of
its own operations and secondly, as the unit of the society in which it operates. The former is related
to what the organization does to the society by way of its specific operations, whereas the latter
deals with what the society demands from it.
Accordingly, CSR needs to be:
(i) more inwards than outwards,
(ii) more related to the character and culture of the corporate rather than its size or profitability,
(iii) more related to making and distributing profits and sustainability,
(iv) more business process oriented than philanthropic,
(v) focused on day to day activities by every employee of the organization rather than limited to
the typical presence of key individuals in the company along with the various social partners
of the corporate. CSR appears in many forms some are directly related to employees and their
families whereas some others point towards outside workplace without any connection to its
employees. It takes various forms such as:

Corporate Philanthropy

Corporate Support

Sponsorships

Corporate Partnerships

Responding in Emergency

10

CSR also refers to business decision making linked to ethical values, compliance with legal
requirements and respect for people, communities and the environment. It is a comprehensive set
of policies, practices and programmes that are integrated throughout business operations and
decision-making processes that are supported and rewarded by the top management
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication Making Good Business
Sense by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, used the following definition for CSR. 'Corporate Social
Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to
economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as
well as of the local community and society at large' (http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.
php). For instance, CSR is a voluntary decision taken by corporations, it is integrated into the
strategic model of business in the form a self regulating mechanism that lets them monitor and
ensure their adherence to ethical standards, law and international norms.
Fundamentally, CSR is governed by the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) i.e. People, Planet, and Profit. By
incorporating CSR policies, businesses embrace their responsibility towards the environment,
consumers, employees, stakeholders, suppliers, communities and the other members of the
community, and contribute to their social obligations by promoting and encouraging community
development and eliminating the practices that harm it (admin 2011).
However, the scope of CSR in corporate board rooms to be management ranks have pervaded and
continue to gain momentum (Hill, 2006 cited Belal 2008). It is also recognized as Corporate
Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship, Responsible Business, or Social Action Program, Sustainable
Responsible Business (SRB), Corporate Social Performance or Corporate Sustainability and
Responsibility. It is gratifying more and more vital initiative of businesses both nationally and
internationally. Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with
a perspective.
As per Wikipedia, "Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism
whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international
norms. Consequently, business would embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the
environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the
public sphere. Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote the public interest
by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that
harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. "
It is to be remembered that a company's business model should be socially responsible and
environmentally sustainable. By socially responsible, it means that the company's activities should
benefit the society and by environmentally sustainable it means that the activities of the company
should not harm the environment (Wikipedia, 2012). There are more responsibilities like economic,
legal, and Ethical responsibility. The economic responsibilities lay the foundation of all social
obligations and are deeply rooted in the classical doctrine of "business of business is business" as
endorsed by noble laureate Milton Friedman (1970). Legal responsibilities are mandatory for
corporations as these are prescribed by law. Therefore, corporations have no choice but to comply
with these basic "ground rules" (Carrol, 1979, p. 50). Ethical responsibilities of corporations are
additional responsibilities going beyond legal compliance and profit making and include those
that firms believe are the right things to do. Ethical responsibility stems from humanistic, religious
and moral orientation of corporations (Lantos, 2001). The discretionary responsibilities refer to the
voluntary nature of obligations rooted in the altruistic principles that are neither required by law

11

nor are expected by the community. The drive for such responsibilities arises from the reciprocal
obligation of giving back to community in exchange of profit and power that businesses receive
from society (Ali Quazi et al http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Companies/z120.pdf )
Though various definitions have been attached to the term, it can be stated that CSR, in its
broadest sense, delineates the relationship between business and society and the role of business
in sustainable development. The fundamental idea behind CSR is that a corporation or company
incurs responsibilities to society beyond maximization of profit and beyond meeting the minimal
requirement of the law. CSR also has numerous facets. Corporations are overwhelmed by many
issues in the name of CSR: stakeholder demands, environmental issues, issues of sustainability,
diversity, labour conditions, ethical investment, and philanthropy among others. Clearly, there is no
one agreed concept. An important distinction should be made, however, between internal and
external CSR practices.
Internal CSR refers to programmes that focus on the core business and on the workforce, such as:
Human Resources (HR) practices
Health, Safety and Environmental ( HSE) practices
Codes of Conduct
Fulfilling and Motivating Work Environment
Employee Development Programmes
Local Content Policies
Assessing and Increasing the Social and Environmental Impact of a Company
Environmental Management Systems ( EMS)
Product Responsibility
External CSR refers to social and environmental programmes directed towards the external
environment, including:
Community development programmes
Sponsorships corporate SOCIAL responsibility
Donations
Contributions to Civil Society Organizations ( CCSO)
Educational programmes at various levels
Supply -chain management
Cluster development
Involvement in the development debate
External CSR should be also distinguished from philanthropy and Public Relations (pr)/Marketing.
Unlike philanthropy, CSR is "an investment from which companies should expect tangible returns
and positive impact on their net profits". In contrast, philanthropy relates to "donations or
charitable giving from which companies do not necessarily expect any direct positive impacts on
their business activities".
On the other hand, CSR differs from pr/Marketing, since it focuses on those areas where there is an
overlapping of social and economic benefits, while pr/Marketing does not focus on any specific
social benefits, but only on those activities that can provide a monetary return for the company.

12

In today's world, CSR can be defined as regards to all aspects of business behavior so that the
impacts of these activities are incorporated in every corporate agenda (Orgrizek, 2001; Coldwell,
2001cited in Belal 2008 ). So, with the literature's definition of CSR, it can be concluded that CSR is
the continuing commitment taken by business organizations to strengthen their ethical concepts
and social involvement in society, contribute to economic development, sponsor charitable
programs, and improve the quality of the workforce and also the increment of services provided.
In the context of this research, we have looked at CSR as the benefits that companies provide to
workers and to the local community affected by business , over and above what they are required
to do so by law,
Critics: While critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue
CSR is merely window-dressing, or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog
over powerful multinational corporations.
Despite the fact that CSR as a perspective is growing, there has always been critics ( J Classon 2006). One of the most influential critics is Nobel Prize winner in economy Milton Friedman, who
claims that companies' sole purpose is to maximize profit for their stockholders. Furthermore, he
claims that CSR is a waste of the stockholders' money (Friedman, 1962). He had argued that the
primary responsibility of business is to make a profit for its owners, albeit while complying with the
law. According to this view, the self-interested actions of millions of participants in free markets will,
from a utilitarian perspective, lead to positive outcomes for society. If the operation of the free
market cannot solve a social problem, it becomes the responsibility of government, not business, to
address the issue.
The "competitive" argument recognizes the fact that addressing social issues comes at a cost to
business. To the extent that businesses internalize the costs of socially responsible actions, they
hurt their competitive position relative to other businesses. This argument is particularly relevant in
a globally competitive environment if businesses in one country expend assets to address social
issues, but those in another country do not. According to Carroll and Buchholtz, since CSR is
increasingly becoming a global concern, the differences in societal expectations around the world
can be expected to lessen in the coming years.
Finally, some argue that those in business are ill-equipped to address social problems. This
"capability" argument suggests that business executives and managers are typically well trained in
the ways of finance, marketing, and operations management, but not well versed in dealing with
complex societal problems. Thus, they do not have the knowledge or skills needed to deal with
social issues. This view suggests that corporate involvement in social issues may actually make the
situation worse. Part of the capability argument also suggests that corporations can best serve
societal interests by sticking to what they do best, which is providing quality goods and services
and selling them at an affordable price to people who desire them.

13

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

There is in Bangladesh a long history of philanthropic activities from time immemorial. These
philanthropic activities included donations to different charitable organizations, poor people and
religious institutions ( Miyan 2006). The CSR World Wide portal conclude that, in Bangladesh Civil
society, businesspeople and politicians view CSR in terms of philanthropy, particularly in the
schools and the healthcare sector. This focus is also rooted in the country's Islamic tradition of
calling upon those with more resources to help the disadvantaged. Accordingly, companies are
expected, most of all, to engage in charitable works, for example by providing donations or incompany training programs (The CSR World Wide portal, 2012).
Till now, most of the businesses in Bangladesh are family owned and first generation businesses.
They are involved in community development work in the form of charity without having any
definite policy regarding the expenses or any concrete motive regarding financial gains in many
instances. Moreover, most of the SMEs fall under the informal sector having low management
structure and resources to address the social and environmental issues.
The discussions on CSR practices in Bangladesh in its modern global terms, is relatively new. In
general, it is true that in Bangladesh, the status of labor rights practices, environmental
management and transparency in corporate governance is not satisfactory, largely due to poor
enforcement of existing laws and inadequate pressure from civil society and interest groups like
Consumer Forums. Globally, as CSR practices are gradually being integrated into international
business practices and hence is becoming one of the determining factors for market accesses, it is
becoming equally instrumental for local acceptability. A focus on CSR in Bangladesh would be
useful, not only for improving corporate governance, labor rights, work place safety, fair treatment
of workers, community development and environment management, but also for industrialization
and ensuring global market access. By now, many CSR dimensions are practiced in Bangladesh
(Miyan 2006, Mondol,2009)
Though CSR is a relatively new concept in Bangladeshi corporate culture, awareness of corporate
social reporting has rapidly increased. All companies need to consider their CSR for two basic
reasons. Firstly, there is intensifying pressure from stakeholders to do so (Belal, 2001 cited Azim
2011). Any company that does not develop and promote its CSR policy to all stakeholders will face
increasing threats to its reputation. Secondly, because it makes sound business sense, CSR
enhances the reputation of an organization, brings in new business and improves stakeholder
return (Kabir,2003 cited Azim 2011 ).
The government of Bangladesh has not imposed or proposed requirements for disclosure of social
and environmental performance. The Bangladesh Companies Act 1994 sets the general framework
for corporate financial reporting. However, no provisions regarding CSR exist in the Companies Act
1994 (GoB, 1994). Until recently, there has not been a separate Bangladesh Accounting Standard
(BAS) regarding social and environmental reporting (IASCF, 2003). In Bangladesh, CSR is still
voluntary with the exception of disclosure of expenditures on energy usage required under the
Companies Act of 1994 and the Securities and Exchange Rules of 1987, which require the total
amount spent on energy to be shown as a separate expenditure in the notes to the financial
statements (Belal, 2001). Since corporate social reporting disclosure is voluntary in Bangladesh.

14

However some progressive companies disclosed some information on community, environmental

and consumer related activities. Imam concludes that the sample listed companies tend to
represent a relatively minor quantity of disclosure when compared with corporate financial
disclosures. In the absence of independent verification, the credibility of information disclosed is
questionable. Furthermore Hossain et al. (2006) investigated CSR by using the annual reports of 107
non-finance companies, for the financial year 2002-2003, showing that: an average 8.33% of
Bangladeshi companies disclose social and environmental information in their corporate annual
report. They concluded that the disclosure of social and environmental information made by the
listed companies in their corporate annual reports in Bangladesh is "very disappointing" (Hossain
et al., 2006 cited Azim 2011).
In recent years there is considerable pressure from various agencies for companies to act
responsibly and be accountable for the impacts they have on social, political and ecological
environments. Companies are also expected to participate in solving social problems, such as
poverty and infrastructure (Kok, Wiele, McKenna & Brown, 2001 cited Azim Mohammed 2011).
Miyan was hopeful that a number of corporations are now following an increased commitment to
CSR beyond just profit making and compliance with regulation. It also found that initiatives in CSR
activities in Bangladesh are pioneered by Multinational Companies. Since Bangladesh is now
exposed to global standards, it can be anticipated that the CSR activities in Bangladesh will
continue to be extended. Firms are now trying to uphold their corporate image of socially
responsible firms and consequently influence consumer buying decisions in favour of the goods
and services marketed by them (Miyan M Alimullah September 2006 )
Though it is explained that CSR is a set of practices that forms a part of good management or
business practices much of it is about transparency and disclosure. Many organizations find that in
actuality they already do much of what is considered "CSR" but often do not have formalized
systems to report on those activities. Additionally CSR should not be viewed as an add-on activity
as it is a concept of good practice that cuts across an organization (Belal 2008.). Zakir et al. disclosed
that Bangladeshi firms should focus on CSR not only for improving corporate governance, labour
rights, fair treatment of workers, community development and environment management, but also
for industrialization and ensuring global market access. Ataur hopes that the government of
Bangladesh is going to undertake an initiative to promote CSR practices. The objective would be to
encourage the businesses to carry out the good citizen-like activities with the aim to reversing the
perceived trend of businesses to have little commitment to society. (Ataur, 2008)
None of this research looked at the labour rights like workplace health and safety environment,
employment standards, including general holidays, annual vacations, working hours, unjust
dismissals, minimum wage, layoff procedures etc - issues that should be complied with by the
company as well as CSR standards.

15

FINDINGS

3.1 Summary of Findings of the Research

This study examined the current practice of CSR and the extent to which these same companies
complied with labour standards in Bangladesh. The analysis suggested that the investment of
Bangladesh companies in social responsibility was not significant, particularly in light of their large
annual profits. Also some of the CSR practicing companies did not follow the labour act properly in
their organization.
The major areas in which CSR activities were undertaken are underprivileged child development,
education, health, youth development/Sport, and Environment.
The Government does not have a CSR policy and there is no designated focal point for CSR within
the Government. Only Bangladesh Bank plays a significant role in CSR promotion to the banking
sectors.
The research findings are described below:
1.

Most of the respondents stated that they completely understand the concept of
corporate social responsibility though they didn't follow any CSR guide line, policy or
advice from any CSR consultation center of Bangladesh. Most of them simply do some
philanthropic activity and declared that as CSR activity. Only Grameenphone and IDLC
Finance consult with CSR Center and Nestle Bangladesh and BRAC Bank follow their
parent organization's guide line for their CSR activities.

SL

Company Name

1
2
3
4

Apex Tannery
Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited
Beximco Pharmaceuticals
BRAC Bank
IDLC Finance
Summit Alliance Port Limited
Singer Bangladesh
Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd
Grameenphone
Nestle Bangladesh
Babylon Group
Gemini Sea Foods Ltd.

6
7
8
9
10
11
12

16

Do you obtain any advice from any

other organizations (national) about
CSR activities?
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No

2.

Most interviewed companies were hesitant to report their yearly CSR Budget in their
annual report. Only Singer Bangladesh, Summit Power, Apex Tannery and Titas Gas
presented the amount of financial aid for CSR activities to their Annual Report.

SL Company Name

Paid Up Capital:
BDT

Yearly Turnover:
BDT

Budget for CSR:

BDT

Expenditure
for CSR: BDT

Apex Tannery

152,400,000
(Annual Report
2012)

3,067,208,000
(Annual Report
2012)

Mentioned in
Annual Report

550,000

Apex Adelchi Footwear

Ltd.

5,00,000,000
(Annual Report
2011)

95,498,560,000

Not mentioned in
Annual Report

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

(Annual Report
2011)

Beximco Pharmaceuticals 2,517,678,000

(December 2011)

7,892,400,000
(December 2011)

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Brac Bank

3,210,000,000
(Annual Report
2011).

194,540,000,000
(Annual Report
2011)

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

IDLC Finance

1,237,500,000
(June 2012,)

2,160,000,000
(June 2012,)

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Summit Alliance Port

Limited

394,360,000,000
(Annual Report:
2011)

4757.210000
(Annual Report:
2011)

Mentioned in
Annual Report.

12,411,5000
(Annual Report:
2011)

Singer Bangladesh

392,680,000
(2011,Annual
Report)

5,461,234,639
(Annual Report
2011)

Mentioned in
Annual Report.

1,530,000 (Annual
report, 2011)

Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd

942.120000000
(2010-11)

68,551,233,852
(2010-11)

Mentioned in 31st
Annual General
Meeting, 30
December 2012

1,365,000

Grameenphone Ltd.

13,503,000,000
(Annual Report:
2011)

89,060,000,000
(Annual Report:
2011)

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

10 Nestle Bangladesh

No Annual Report

No Annual Report

Confidential

Confidential

11 Babylon Group

29,740,000

131,000,000

Not mentioned

Not mentioned

12 Gemini Sea Foods Ltd.

20,000,000

1,07,78,83,336

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

Not mentioned in
Annual Report.

17

3.

Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 imposes certain obligations on employers in relation to

Canteens (Section 92) Shelters (Section 93) Rooms for Children (Section 94) Compulsory
Group Insurance (section 99), according to workers that we interviewed many of these
were not provided by the companies which provided CSR.

SL No.

Company

1
2

Apex Tannery
Apex Adelchi Foot
wear Limited
Beximco
Pharmaceuticals
Brac Bank
IDLC Finance
Summit Alliance Port
Limited
Singer Bangladesh
Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd
Grameenphone
Nestle Bangladesh
Babylon Group
Gemini Sea Food Ltd.

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

4.

Child Care
name

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

18
14

Insurance for
Worker

Medical facilities
for Worker (hospital
in factory or Doctor)
yes

no

no

yes

yes

yes

yes

Yes

no
yes
no

(canteen)
yes
no

yes
yes
no

yes
Yes
yes

no
no

no
(canteen)

no
no

yes
No

yes
No
yes
no

(canteen)
(canteen)
yes
no

yes
yes
yes
no

Yes
Yes
Yes
yes

Whilst, the CSR interventions of international companies are based on the direction and
guidance of their parent companies (e.g., Nestle Bangladesh, Singer Bangladesh), other
company's CSR programmes and projects are funded by the decisions on a board level or
ad-hoc basis. The research revealed that seven companies out of twelve prepared their
CSR plan following the decisions taken by the board..

SL

1
2

Center Rest Room

for Worker/ Canteen

Apex Tannery
Apex Adelchi Footwear
Limited
Beximco Pharmaceuticals
Brac Bank
IDLC Finance
Summit Alliance
Port Limited
Singer Bangladesh
Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd
Grameen Phone
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.
Babylon Group
Gemini Sea Food Ltd.

Cpany Name How does the company decide to

undertake particular CSR activities? Is it:
ad hoc
Planned
Annual basis At board level
At board level
At board level
At board level
Annual basis
Planned
At board level
At board level
At board level
Planned
Planned
At board level
Ad hoc

5.

CSR is also used by companies to provide benefits to their employees. Some of the
companies engage in in-house charitable works, such as by providing donations or inhouse training programs. Last year Apex Aadelchi (AAFL) donates money for training and
skill development activities (annual report 2012) as well as regularly contributing to
support education in schools, madrasas (religious school), knowledge centers, college and
universities of the country. They have also set up a full-fledged medical centre and a daycare centre for their employees. Similarly SINGER set up a Sewing Academy which extends
its services to the underprivileged women of the society. On an average each year, the
Sewing Instructors provide training to approximately 2000 students who can also get a
job in Singer. Babylon Group also arranged training and some sort of educational
programme for their employees inviting renowned poets and writers to their factory to
encourage their workers to be literate.

6.

There were few companies who have separate units or department for CSR activities. The
research found that Grameenphone, IDLC Finance, BRAC Bank and Nestle Bangladesh Ltd
have a separate unit for CSR activities.

SL Company Name

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Apex Tannery
Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited
Beximco Pharmaceuticals
BRAC Bank
IDLC Finance
Summit Alliance Port Limited
Singer Bangladesh
Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd.
Grameenphone
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.
Babylon Group
Gemini Sea Food Ltd.
7.

Have a separate department or unit involved in CSR

activities?(We mean Separate unit that has
responsible staffs appointed for this unit, we don't
mean separate committee)
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No

Trade unions: The CSR responsible person of every interviewed company stated that their
employees were so satisfied that they did not feel a need to form a trade union. Though
Beximco Group employees alone of the companies have a strong labour union and they
are very active.

19

8.

The primary target of CSR efforts for most businesses is underprivileged children of
the society, mainly in the form of financial assistance towards medical treatment.
IDLC sponsored 10 specially-challenged children of SEID Trust (SEID Trust- a nongovernmental voluntary development organization working for social inclusion and
promoting rights of underprivileged children with disabilities including intellectual and
multiple disabilities as well as autism since 2003) and also sponsored Shishu Bikash
Chhaya (a residential centre providing better education and healthcare facilities to
underprivileged children) providing them the benefits of better education and healthcare
facilities. IDLC has been contributing to SEID Trust for more than 6 years. Summit Power
also sponsored an amount of Tk. 13, 43,750/- to SEID Trust for supporting this deprived
part of the community. Similarly Apex Tannery Ltd donated 0.5 million to Jalalabad
Association for scholarships to the meritorious students. BRAC Bank donated Prothom Alo
Adamya Medhabi, Biochemistry Olympiad. Beximco Pharma offered financial assistance to
the children of their employees. In the year 2011, Singer also arranged Employment to the
Underprivileged children of UCEP (Underprivileged Children's Education Program- is
providing technical training on different trades. On completion of this training the
trainees are absorbed in different organizations).

9.

Companies have a preference to financially assist their employee's children's

education purpose. In 2011, for example, Beximco Pharma offered assistance to a total of
36 meritorious students coming from diverse academic backgrounds. Similarly Titas Gas
donated Employee's dependants who did well at secondary, higher secondary, graduation
and post graduation level were granted scholarships under "Titas Gas Education
Scholarship & Financial Assistance Programme". In 1987, "Titas Gas Adarsha Uchcha
Biddyaloya" was established at the premises of Titas Gas Office at Demra, Dhaka.

10. Companies are interested to donate in Art, Cultural and Sports sector: For instance
SINGER Bangladesh Limited in association with media partner Channel i, has introduced
SINGER-CHANNEL I BRAVERY AWARD: KINGBODONTI, first of its kind in the country, from
2011. The objective of this award is to recognize and honor brave souls of the country
who are making a difference through their selfless acts. Similarly, In 2011 Beximco,
sponsored and organized the grand cultural event, at the National Museum, marking the
150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Summit believes in the eagerness,
strength and compassion amongst the youth and aims to boost up the spirit within the
Bangladeshi youth and so supports and sponsor North Alpine Club Bangladesh - NACB.
11. Some companies are environmentally conscious and take initiative, such as IDLC
finance has launched an environmental awareness campaign in different school, in
partnership with LEADS, targeting primary school children. On environmental issues,
Summit Power gives high priority to protecting the environment and their humble efforts
in this regard included extensive number of sapling plantation in the Company's power
plants and neighboring places.1

1Beximco Pharma states that it is always aware of environmental compliance and adopts policies to preserve the environment by
practically minimizing emission and waste, thereby reducing carbon footprint. But the authorities of Hajji Kasimuddin Public
School at Tongi's Ouchpara, adjacent to a factory of drug maker Beximco Pharmaceuticals, have filed a general diary with Tongi
Model Police as several students fell sick on 9 September 2012, Sunday after inhaling gas emitted from the factory
(http://news.priyo.com/business/2012/09/09/schoolers-fall-ill-b-59396.html). Business organizations cannot operate successfully
without the cooperation of the society in which it is located.

20

12. The links between NGOs and business sector are limited. Few of the interviewed
companies had links with NGO's for their CSR activities. Beximco does works together with
non-profit organizations who work to improve people's lives through research,
information, and advocacy. Beximco joined Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) in
Bangladesh. MAMA is a country-owned, country-led initiative managed by an alliance of
stakeholders. Summit Power understands its responsibility to reduce the gender
inequality and continues to support related bodies through different means, with
Karmojibi Nari (KN) one such organization. Summit Power Limited donated to the Acid
Survivor's Foundation that supports survivors of brutal attacks. Similarly Apex Adelchi
Footwear Ltd. (AAFL) has played an instrumental role in establishing the Center of
Excellence for Leather Skill Bangladesh Limited (COEL) to give one-stop skill solutions for
leather sector. AAFL is one of the major stakeholder of COEL, a not for profit institution,
which has coordinated its effort with the Department for international Development's
(DFID) Shiree challenge Fund and Gana Unnayan Kendra to identify groups most affected
by climate change. Similiarly, Singer Bangladesh had taken up an ongoing initiative in
conjunction with Fareea Lara Foundation. Grameenphone jointly with USAID launched
Mobile Alliance for Maternal action (M4H) initiative that provides critical life saving
information to new and pregnant mother and their guardians through SMS and IVR.
Grameenphone also collaborates with Jaago Foundation launched Online Class room and
support for Women Support and investigation Division and national Legal Aid Services
Organization (NLASO).
13. None of the interviewed company said they faced any type of impediment or
hurdles in implementing CSR activities.
SL

Company Name

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Apex Tannery
Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited
Beximco Pharmaceuticals
Brac Bank
IDLC Finance
Summit Alliance Port Limited
Singer Bangladesh
Titas Gas Dist. Co. Ltd.
Grameenphone
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.
Babylon Group
Gemini Sea Food Ltd.

Have you faced any type of impediment or hurdles

in implementing CSR activities in your business?
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No

21

RECOMMENDATIONS

Create a CSR policy : It would be helpful if the government created a CSR policy setting out
expections that the government has of companies to work on CSR issues, and providing guidance
on the kinds of activities possible.
Awareness building Programme : It would be useful if there was a greater awareness amongst
businesses about corporate social responsibility and the kinds of CSR activities they could
undertake.
Worker's Rights ensured : Those undertaking CSR must ensure that they are complying with the
law in relation to labour rights and any legal obligations they may have in protecting the local
community and environment.
Capacity building : Companies should consider seeking assistance from outside bodies in
considering what CSR activities they should or could undertake.


Research and information sharing on CSR : Research into CSR achievements amongst
Bangladesh companies

Corporate CSR strategy : Companies should be encouraged to integrate CSR into their
core values and articulate a specific CSR strategy. They should not wait for government
pressure, they should boldly practice CSR activity for their sustainable business.

Stakeholder engagement : In originating the CSR strategy companies should identify

those with a stake in the activities undertaken and develop a policy for communicating
with them..

Performance management and governance : Evaluation measures are an integral part

of the CSR strategy. When companies formulate their CSR strategies it should clearly state
the indicators of performance, and in the course of strategy implementation performance
shall be monitored to ensure that the CSR goals are being achieved. There should be a
separate unit or department and at least a designated senior person within the company,
who ensures governance in CSR implementation.

Public disclosure: Business should aim to disclose their CSR engagement to the public. Transparent
reporting will improve the companies' credibility; it will open up opportunities for coordination of
CSR initiatives across businesses, and facilitate better research and inter-stakeholder dialogue
resulting in general improvement of CSR.
CSR practicing Companies should disclose information about the exact percentage of their profits
goes into CSR activities, in their Annual Report. This voluntary disclosure has a positive impact on
how an organization performs and may legitimize the organization's behavior by influencing other
stakeholders. It also signifies the recognition of that organization's accountability to society


22

Higher education institutions involved in business administration should ensure that they
have a module in the courses dealing with CSR activities.

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Ahmed, Ishraq (June 6 2012 ),` The Bangladesh economy: Prospects for the future" publish in The Financial
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2.

Bangladesh Enterprises Institute. Corporate Social Responsibility, Bangladesh Perspectives: Findings from
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9e923.pdf

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Bangladesh: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities
Infoplease.comhttp://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107317.html#ixzz2DxTq2gIW

4.

Belal, A.T. 2001. A study of corporate social disclosures in Bangladesh. Management Auditing Journal 16 (5),
274-289.

5.

Blowfield, M., Frynas, J.G. 2005. Setting new agenda: critical perspective on corporate social responsibility in the
developing world. International Affairs 81 (3), 499-513.

6.

Carroll, A. B. 1979. A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance. Academy of

Management Review 4 (4), 496-503.

7.

Case filed against GP top brass for forced retrenchment(2012-09-28), http://www.dailyprimenews.com/

details.php?id=979

8.

Edward Probir Mondol(20 Jul 2009),"Why Corporate Social Responsibility? -The Context of Bangladesh"
Published by: Corporate Social Responsibility Bangladesh Foundation

9.

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York. Times Magazine,
September 13: 32-33, 122-126. http://www.alba.edu.gr/uploads/speech.pdf

10. Hosen Md. Zakir et a l (Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of MNCs in Bangladesh: A case study on Grameen
Phone Ltd. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1639570
11. Hossain, MA, Islam, KS and Andrew, J, (October 2006). Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure in
Developing Countries: evidence from Bangladesh (Asian Pacific Conference on International Accounting
Issues, Hawaii, http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&context=commpapers
12. Imam, S. 2000. Corporate social performance reporting in Bangladesh. Managerial Auditing Journal 15 (3), 133141. http://mams.rmit.edu.au/umuxjsvwvs2vz.pdf
13. Jamali, D., Mishak, R. 20007. Corporate social responsibility (CSR): Theory and practice in a developing country
context. Journal of Business Ethics 72, 362. http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Companies/z120.pdf
14. Miyan M Alimullah (2006), "Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility - Bangladesh Context" Journal of AIUB
Bangladesh, August, Vol.3, No. 1, Pp. 13-32,com.bd/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=
0CCoQFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww.researchsea.com%2Fhtml%2Fdownload.php%2Fid%2
15. Mohammed Belal Uddin et al(2008), Three Dimensional Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility' on Journal
of Business and Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2008 , https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume12/13.
Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Disclosure-in-Bangladesh.pdf
16.

Robert L. Heath and Lan Ni (2008),' Corporate Social Responsibility'

http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/corporate-social-responsibility/

University of Houston ,

17. Amin, khairul. (Sun, 09/09/2012-11:18pm) "Schoolers fall ill from Beximco gas" cited in, http://news.priyo.com
/business/2012/09/09/schoolers-fall-ill-b-59396.

23

18. THE DAILY STAR Monday, July 16, 2012 Business Many still see CSR as philanthropy: study , Star Business
Report. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=242259
19.

Uddin, Mohammed Belal et al (January 2008 209) Three Dimensional Aspects of Corporate Social
Responsibility published by Daffodil International University Journal of Business and Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1.

20.

Ziaur Rahman "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)-Global and Bangladeshi Perspectives",

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bdresearchers/message/2925.

21. (http://www.bioinfo.in/contents.php?id=195).
22.

(http://find.galegroup.com/grnr/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=85955ee3bb5b0f734456742dd7bf38
59&prodId=GRNR&userGroupName=coloboulder&tabID=T001&docId=CX3273100059&type=retrieve&conten
tSet=EBKS&version=1.0)

24

ANNEXURE

7.1 Annex : Examples of CSR Practices companies in Bangladesh

1. Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited:
Company Profile : Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited is a leading manufacturer and exporter of
leather footwear from Bangladesh to major shoe retailers in Western Europe, North America and
Japan. The company has revenues of USD 100 million in 2010. Public listed and traded since 1993,
AAFL is professionally managed, currently employs 8000 persons and is in full compliance with
Corporate Governance Compliance Report under Section 2CC of the Securities Exchange
Commission Notification Order. The registered office of the Company is at House 6, Road 137,
Block SE (D), Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh and its factory is located at Chandra, Shafipur,
Kaliakoir, Gazipur. The company employ 8000+ (70% female worker) employees. Male employees
are 2,400 and Female employees are 5,600 (Annual Report 2011).
CSR definition : What we understand by CSR that CSR activities can be the cause behind better
performance and can also produce more revenue and growth. Companies that are socially
responsible usually generate satisfactory financial returns. Some internal areas of business that are
influenced by CSR are: human resources management, health and safety during work, adjustment
to changes and management of environmental impact and natural resources. The external areas
include local communities, business, partners, suppliers and consumers, human rights and global
environmental issues.
CSR activities : Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited (AAFL) has played an instrumental role in
establishing the Centre of Excellence for Leather Skill Bangladesh Limited (COEL) to give one stop
skill solutions for leather sector. AAFL is one of the major stakeholders of the COEL, a not for profit
institute, which has coordinated its efforts with the Department for International Development's
(DFID) Shiree Challenge Fund and Gana Unnayan Kendra (GUK) to identify groups worstly affected
by climate change. The Company has been providing its expertise and all out support to equip the
trainees to meet the rising demands of the industry. Concurrently, empowerment and employment
of such communities directly correlates with the first Millennium Development Goal of the United
Nations for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger through the empowerment of marginalized
workers. It has brought the extreme poverty ridden individuals (70% of who are women) from
Gaibandha district of Rangpur region affected by Climate Change. In fact in 2011 alone, AAFL has
trained and employed over 1,000 such individuals in its factories. Through this sustainable
employment initiative, these workers have the opportunity to obtain greater job security, steady
income and better living standards. In addition, during their training period, each individual is
getting monthly stipend, providing them with a unique opportunity to earn while learning. The
Company's inclusive business model not only seeks to create employment and empowerment of
the most vulnerable communities in the country, but also serve as an example of an
environmentally responsible and sustainable business model in the industry.
AAFL ensures the health and welfare of its employees through a full-fledged medical centre and a
day-care centre. The accreditation from Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) serves as a
vindication of these practices.

25

Medical care facilities inside the Factory& Free Immunization for children of employees

AAFL is a regular contributor to support education in schools and madrasas, knowledge centers,
college and universities of the country.
Training & Skills Development Activities : Started training using the factory premises of Apex
Adelchi Footwear Limited with the help of Poverty Reduction by Increasing the Competitiveness of
Enterprises (PRICE), which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to train 400 individuals every three months time, resulting in a total of 2400 operators
trained in one and half years to create employment opportunities in footwear and leather goods
sectors.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : Company's registered/paid-up
capital 5,000,000,000 BDT (Annual Report). The company's approximate yearly turnover is BDT:
95,498,560,000(Annual Report 2011).
Major Contribution in CSR : Environment, Training & Skills Development Activities.

26

2. Apex Tannery Limited

Company Profile : Apex Tannery has been setting industry standards in Bangladesh leather export
industry since 1976. Through the year its production has been progressively entailing a constant
expansion of building and machinery. Annual production exceeds 23 million square meters and
company sells turnover amounts to over US$ 30million.
The company's registered address is 127 Hajaribagh T/A, Dhaka-1209. It's registered/ paid-up
capital 15Cror 24 lac. The company employs 790 employees, 75% are male and 25% (approximate)
are female.
CSR definition : Company Secretary Jagodish Kumar Vanja said,` CSR is a modern concept.
Business companies receive this concept for doing some social responsibilities but they are not
bound to do this'.

Apex Tannery has provided financial support to the Imam of the factory mosque for his treatment

CSR activities:

Director of Apex Tannery Ltd Md. Hedayetullah handing over a cheque worth 0.5 million
under corporate social responsibility to President of Jalalabad Association, Dhaka Dr AK
Abdul Mobin for scholarships to the meritorious students.

The Company had provided a cheque worth TK. 40.000 TO THE SON OF Md. Afseruddin
Supervisor of the Company for his education.

The company had provided pure drinking warer to the slum dwellers at Rayerbazar
Boddhovumi.

The Company had provided pure drinking water to the slum dwellers at Rayerbazar
Boddhovumi.

The Company had provided TK. 10,000 to Md. Siddiqur Rahman Imam of the factory
mosque of the company for his treatment.

27

Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : last Year Company's yearly paid up
capital was 152,400,000 BDT and turnover 3,067,208,000 BDT (Annual Report 30 September, 2012),
and budget for CSR activity was BDT.550,000. This amount was allocated by the higher authority.
There is no specific percent from profit for CSR activity.
Major Contribution in CSR : In-house activity like staffs treatment and scholarships for employees
children etc.
Labour act comply : They didn't truly follow the labour act to their factory because their workers
are exposed to dangerous chemicals and are in danger of accidents due to tannery machinery and
have to work more than 8 hours.

3. IDLC Finance Limited

Company Profile : IDLC Finance Limited is a pioneering leasing company, was established in Dhaka
in 1985. It is committed to sustainable development by creating long-term value-value for their
stakeholders, value for the environment and value for the community.
The company's registered address is Corporate Head Office, Bay's Galleria (1st Floor) 57 Gulshan
Avenue, Dhaka 1212. Its registered/paid-up capital 1,237,500,000 BDT (June 2012, half yearly
report) The Company's approximate yearly turnover BDT 2,160,000,000 (as of Dec 31, 2011). The
company has 594 employees, 500 of them are male and 94 of them female.
CSR definition : CSR Manager Zurath Haq expressed that,` IDLC Finance think that a responsible
and sustainable business organization is one that is not only here to make profits, but also to do its
business responsibly by keeping in mind the interests of its stakeholders - both internal and
external. A business can only become sustainable when it conducts its operations keeping in mind
the development of the environment and the community in which it operates. In other words, a
business is considered responsible and sustainable when it meets its present needs without
compromising the needs of its future generations, by integrating the 3 P's: People, Planet and
Profit'. At IDLC, 'CSR as a way towards sustainable business by creating long-term value for the
stakeholders, the environment and the community'.

IDLC supports SEID Trust for the development of underprivileged and disabled children

CSR activities : IDLC has conducted carbon footprint analysis of three of its branches in May 2012.
IDLC celebrated World Environment Day on June 5, 2012, by distributing pot plants among their
clients with a message "Let's make a greener planet!" The objective was to give them this simple
message that together, even small parts done by us can play a major role in building a better
environment.

28

Sponsoring in SEID Trust : IDLC is sponsoring 10 specially-challenged children of SEID Trust,

providing them the benefits of better education and healthcare facilities. IDLC has been a regular
contributor to SEID Trust for more than 6 years.
Community plantation initiative : In July 2012, IDLC undertook a community plantation initiative
with IPAC (Integrated Protected Area Con-management) project of USAID's Nishorgo Network.
Under this project, 7,500 trees were planted in 750 households surrounding the protected forest
area of Satchari, located at Habiganj, Sylhet. IDLC also undertook a tree plantation event at Mirpur
DOHS in September 2012, by planting 700 ornamental trees in the area for the purpose of
beautification and creating a greener environment.
Environmental awareness campaign : IDLC has launched an environmental awareness campaign
in different school, in partnership with LEADS, targeting primary school children. The very first
session was arranged at Udayan Higher Secondary School on October 1, 2012. Moreover, IDLC
provided special stickers with messages for responsible utilization of electricity and water, and
different color waste bins to start the practice of source-separation of waste materials. IDLC will
undertake in different schools across Bangladesh. An agreement was signed in this regard with
LEADS, a social organization of TRK Consultancy Services, on September 16, 2012.
Shishu Bikash Chhaya : On October 9, 2012 IDLC sponsored Shishu Bikash Chhaya a residential
centre providing better education and healthcare facilities to underprivileged children. The centre,
located at Old Dhaka, houses fifteen children, mostly orphans or from broken families in the slum
areas. IDLC is sponsoring the centre for one month, and accordingly a cheque was handed over
through a formal ceremony on October 09, 2012. Besides this residential facility, Shishu Bikash
Chhaya also has plans to start a school for underprivileged children in near future.
Blood donation program : IDLC has arranged a blood donation program at its Sylhet branch on
October 13, 2012, where employees and external stakeholders voluntary donated blood for
Bangladesh Thalassaemia Hospital and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : Based on IDLC's CSR plans for every
year, it allocates specific budget for its CSR projects, which is approved by their management, and it
is .03%-.05% of after-tax profit.
Major Contribution in CSR : Sponsoring in SEID Trust, Environmental awareness campaign,
education and healthcare facilities for underprivileged children.

4. BRAC Bank
Company Profile : BRAC Bank is a mission driven bank. It was founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed
with a mission of taking banking services to unbanked 'missing middle'. Serving the people and
planet is embedded in DNA of the bank. Its CSR activities are aligned with the mission and vision of
the bank.
BRAC Bank Limited ,Registered address detail : 1 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212 . Its
total staff 6021. Regular 4213- 582 female, Contractual 1808 -283 female. It's registered/paid-up
capital BDT. 3,210,000,000 (as of Annual Report 2011) and its yearly turnover 194,540,000,000 (as of
Annual Report 2011)

29

Life time support to Taramon Bibi

CSR definition : Mr.Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq designated as Head of Communication & Service
Quality said ,` BRAC Bank follows 3P Philosophy - People, Planet & Profit. The Bank has embedded
the philosophy into the DNA of its business. To us, CSR is not limited to single-time donations or
supporting mid-term sustenance of social ventures, but more of how we do our business. The very
business of SME Financing has worked towards ensuring inclusivity in terms of banking. However,
apart from the regular business, we do carry various other donor activities'.
CSR activities : BRAC Bank focuses on six key areas for corporate social responsibilities. They are:
Environment, Education, Health, Young leadership, Culture & heritage and Community
development. Key CSR activities:
 Education - BRAC Bank-Prothom Alo Adamya Medhabi, Biochemistry Olympiad
 Health - Autism awareness, Kidney Hospital
 Social Welfare - Rehabilitation to acid victim women, Taramon Bibi, Marathon for humanity
 Environment - biogas plant, solarizing SME Unit Offices, seed crushing projects etc.
 Art & culture - Ekushey Book Fair, support to Liberation War Museum etc .
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : BRAC Bank's yearly turnover
194540000000(Annual Report 2011). In 2011 BRAC Bank undertaken an estimate of the annual cost
of all their corporate social responsibility activities, that is 3 crore (Approx.)
CSR Policy is the guided principles for BRAC Bank to carry out CSR programs. More than 45% of the
activities involving 23% of the budget in 2011 were planned on annual basis keeping the principles
in mind.
Major Contribution in CSR : Sponsoring in Education, Health, Social Welfare, Environment, Art &
culture.

30

5. Beximco Pharma
Company Profile: Beximco pharmaceuticals Ltd. Belongs to Beximco Group, The largest private
sector business conglomerate in Bangladesh incorporated in the late 70s, The Company's key
strategies always aim to provide a strong return for shareholders, while creating social and
economic value in the communities where it operates. They remain committed to being a good
corporate citizen.
Beximco pharma's registered address is 17 Dhanmondi R/A, Road No. 7 Dhaka 1205. Its total
employs a workforce of roughly 2700 (As of 2011,). And the company's registered/paid-up BDT
2,517,678,100 (December 2011). The company's approximate yearly turnover BDT 7,892,400,000
BDT (December 2011).
CSR definition : Fairuze Chowdhury, Executive, Business Development of Beximco Pharma defines
Corporate Social Responsibility, `Every successful corporation has a responsibility to use its
resources and influence to make a positive impact on the world and its people. Economically,
Environmentally and Socially Responsible, Beximco Pharma endeavors to, achieving success in
ways that respect ethical values, people in need, their communities and the environment.' The
Company's key strategies always aim to provide a strong return for shareholders, while creating
social and economic value in the communities where it operates.
CSR activities
Trusted Partner in Health : Beximco pharma work together with non-profit organizations who
work to improve people's lives through research, information, and advocacy. In the year under
review, we joined Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) in Bangladesh. MAMA is a countryowned, country-led initiative managed by an alliance of stakeholders. Through a core group of
founding partners The commercial brand name to be tested is Aponjon.
As part of the new United States Global Health Initiative, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) catalyzed the creation of a public-private coalition in Bangladesh to support
the execution of the service.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Access to Information (A2I) Program at
Prime Minister's Office are official partners of the initiative. Global partners include Johnson &
Johnson and United Nations Foundation, among others.

Official sponsor of the

Bangladesh National Cricket
team for the ICC Cricket World
Cup 2011

31

Awareness Campaigns : Every year, we launch campaigns touching on different forms of heath
impediments ranging from asthma, diabetes, hypertension and many more. Campaign activities
include rallies in addition to organizing and sponsoring scientific seminars and conferences for
various associations and societies in medical disciplines.
Preserving Cultural Heritage : In 2011, we sponsored and organized the grand cultural event, at
the National Museum, marking the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore; It was
premiered on 7th May at the National Museum, Dhaka. We also sponsored the making and
distribution of the document.
Children's Education is a Right, not a Privilege : Beximco Pharma, offer financial assistance to the
children, of their employees, In the year 2011, Beximco Pharma offered assistance to a total of 36
meritorious students coming from diverse academic backgrounds.
Responsibility to the Environment : We are always aware of environmental compliance and
adopt policy to preserve the environment by practically minimizing emission and waste, thereby
reducing our carbon footprint. The premise that drives us is we always put the needs of people
before anything else in every chapter of our success story. Our Safety, Health and Environment
(SHE) program is also based on a framework of consistent standards.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : The Beximco pharma's approximate
yearly turnover BDT 7890.241843 million (December 2011) and Generally, Beximco pharma does
not disclose the budget for CSR activity.
Major Contribution in CSR : Health and Sports.

6. Grameenphone Limited
Company profile : Grameenphone is the largest mobile telecommunications operator in
Bangladesh. The company was incorporated on October 10, 1996 as a private limited company.
Grameenphone converted to a public limited company on June 25, 2007. Telenor Mobile
Communications AS (55.80%) and Grameen Telecom (34.20%). The rest 10.00% shareholding
includes General public & other Institutions. The company's Authorized Capital : BDT
40,000,000,000(Annual Report) and Fully Paid-up Capital : BDT 13,503,000,220 (Annual Report 2011). Yearly turnover approximately: 89,060,000,000 BDT(Annual Report -2011). Total employees
4,598 (December 2011) Male : 3968 and Female : 962.
CSR activities
In 2011, Grameenphone initiated the following initiatives:

National Immunization Day (NID): Jointly with the Government of Bangladesh, WHO & UNICEF,

Grameenphone initiated mass awareness campaign through SMS alert and other media on
polio eradication since 2007. In 2011, as part of this campaign, Grameenphone sent free SMSs
to it's subscribers, created awareness through all FM radio channels and published press ads in
leading dailies. Besides this, GP arranged mobile vaccination centers on the mini-trucks that
plied different important places across Dhaka City Corporation, which provided polio vaccines
to the children who are below five years.

Mobile for Health (M4H): Grameenphone jointly with USAID launched 'Mobile Alliance for
Maternal Action' initiative that provides critical life saving information to new and pregnant
mothers and their guardians through SMS and IVR. The project aims to reach 500,000 mothers
by 2015.

32

It's Our Turn: It's our turn is a platform to engage youths in voluntarily community works for
the betterment of the society. Through this initiative, Grameenphone engaged its employees
in the community works.
Online Classroom: Grameenphone, in partnership with Jaago Foundation, launched Online
Classroom Pilot Phase. Under the initiative, a suburban classroom is connected online with a
classroom in Dhaka while both the classes are conducted by a single instructor
simultaneously. To operate the classes, Video Conference technology is used and both teacher
and students interact in real time at the respective classes. Corporate Responsibility at
Grameenphone.
Helpline Support for Women Support & investigation division (WSID) and National legal Aid
Services Organization (NLASO): Grameenphone provided support to establish hotline for
'Women Support and Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and National Legal
Aid Services Organization (NLASO)' under Ministry of Law. It is expected that these services will
contribute significantly to reduce domestic violence and other crimes targeted to women and
children. At the same time, this will open doors to access legal support for the poor.
Blanket and Clothes Distribution: Distributed more than 7,500 blankets in different areas of
Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Chapainawabganj and Khulna. Besides, 5,015
pcs of clothes that were donated by GP employees were also distributed among the cold
affected poor community.
Special Olympics World Summer Games, ATHENS 2011: Grameenphone sponsored Special
Olympic Bangladesh Team to participate at the World Summer Games in 2011, held in Athens.
40 athletes [boys 28 and girls 12] participated and won a total of 60 medals among which 37
were gold medals.
Climate Change Program : As a responsible business, GP launched its 'Climate Change
Program' back in 2008 to gain sustainability and as well as to help people and community. GP
has an environmental Road map which aims to promote a low-carbon society, and GP's first
priority is to take responsibility for the excess CO2 emissions generated by its own operations.
GP has set a target of reducing 40% carbon emission (CO2) within 2015 from the business as
usual situation considering 2008 as the baseline.
Renewable Energy : We initiated renewable energy project back in 2007 to operate our offgrid sites with green energy in a business viable mode. At present we have 50 BTS sites
running on solar. Work is in progress for installing solar in another 110 sites. Deployment of 50
Solar BTSs from 2007 to 2011 saved approximately 598 Thousand Litres of fuel which measures
to over 1.5 Thousand Tons of CO2 reduction.
Consolidation & Optimization GP took two projects, one is network modernization project
which is to reduce its Network energy consumption by swapping of 7,272 BTSs with energy
efficient modern equipment and another is to consolidate and optimize Core nodes from 40 to
20 along with to reduce locations from 22 to 9 throughout the country with an aim to reduce
energy consumption and increase work efficiency. With these two initiatives, GP has saved till
now approximately 48 GWh (Gigawatt hours) electricity and 83 thousand liters of fuel which is
over 27 thousand tons of CO2 reduction. 50% energy consumption reduction in network sites
has been possible from network modernization project.
Community Power Project: Grameenphone partnered with University of Oslo to develop an
advanced Community Power Project. GP piloted this project in a remote village named
Paharpur, under Hobigonj district in Sylhet Division, at the northeast of Bangladesh. A minigrid has been developed and around 136 households are connected to this grid and getting
power from 5 pm till midnight. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to develop business models
that would promote a self-sustaining community power infrastructure. This also enables the
roll-out of Community Information Center (CIC) in areas that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Tele Dermatology Project: This is our pilot project. We include four village in this project.
Patients can get prescription from renowned dermatologist's through video conferencing. It
starts from 2012.

33

Safe Motherhood & Infant Care Project, Employment opportunity to acid survivors, Scholarship for underprivileged
meritorious students, Emergency relief effort in natural calamities of Grameen Phone

Internal CSR Activities

Happy Heart Child Care : Grameenphone has started the daycare center "Happy Hearts" back in
April 2006 to stand distinct as one of the unique employers in the corporate arena. Caring is the
first priority of the center because every child is unique in every way. In our Happy Hearts have a
caring and development sector where the children get proper care and nurturing environment.
Children do not just grow in size. There is a general pattern or sequence for development that is
true of most children. However, the rate, character, and quality of development vary from child to
child.
Cafeteria : A well decorated and well furnished cafeteria for staffs
Insurance for all staffs : Grameenphone arrange all permanent staffs Insurance.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : Grameenphone's yearly turnover
approximately: 89,060,000,000 BDT (Annual Report -2011) and Hence, it is difficult for them to
determine year to year budget or expenditure for CSR activities.
Major Contribution in CSR : Actually GP's main focus area for CSR is Health, Education and
Climate.
Labour act comply : They have huge staff those work there more than six months but in
temporary bases, it is also violating the labour act. A vast employee's of Grmeenphone case filing
against the company. The company did not share their profit with their employees. Worker of
Grameenphone file about 30 Cases at Court-1 during last August/Sep-2012. All these employees
were fired unlawfully from the company. Near about 313 Employees were fired without
maintaining the labor act-2006.

7. Singer Bangladesh
Company profile : After the emergence of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971, the East Pakistan
Branch Office was elevated to a country Office and the Sewing Machines were made available from
different Singer overseas sources. The number of shops was squeezed to only 23 because of low
volume of business. A change in the investment policy in 1979 created new business opportunities
and SINGER registered as an operating company, with 80% of the share held by SINGER Sewing
Machine Company (SSMC), USA, and 20% by local shareholders. In 1983 the company was listed
with Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and offered 20% of its total capitalization- 2,565 ordinary shares
of Taka 100 each. In 2001, it was also listed with the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).
SINGER's registered address is 39 DILKUSA C/A DHAKA-1000. Singer employ 926 employees, 794 of
them are male and 132 are female. It's registered/paid-up capital 392.68.000 BDT (2011, Annual
Report).

34

CSR definition : Mr.Mohammad Sanaullah, Director, Corporate Affairs & Company Secretary of
Singer Bangladesh ltd. He defined CSR that ,`Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the new
dimensions in corporate management. How, once there was a time in financial Management most
of the time people were telling that maximization of profit is the main objective of the company
but in modern concept we do not tell like that, we feel that the companies corporate
management's main objective is to achieve the corporate goal and incentives as well . Whenever
you have to achieve the corporate goal simultaneously you think about the stakeholder's interest
and at the same time to the corporate social responsibility also. Corporate Social Responsibility we
feel that those who are the progressive companies definitely they will look after the under
privileged people, the distressed people and who don't have the capacity to survive in this society'.
CSR activities : Singer, as part of its social commitment, has been extending its support to a
number of social projects in different forms. Singer also contributes to the promotion of sports and
culture in Bangladesh. The donation of Singer products to various institutions works for the
betterment of the under privileged people, which Singer views as its corporate responsibility.
In addition to this, Singer has been donating its products to organizations that are engaged in
social welfare activities.
Singer Sewing Academy : Sewing Academy is an embodiment of Singer's social commitment and
it resolved to bring the company closer to the people and community. The Academy extends its
services to the underprivileged women of the society for income generation. On an average each
year, the Sewing Instructors provide training to approximately 2000 students.
ILO Child Labor Elimination Program : In 2000 the European Union and the United States of
America took a strong stance to stop child labor (age below 14 years) in the garments industry.
Consequently, a huge number of children were laid off in many countries, including Bangladesh.
These children were school dropouts and found employment in garments industries to support
their families. ILO decided to go for sewing, cutting and embroidery training. Reflecting the spirit of
social commitment, Singer joined hands with ILO for improving the sewing skills of the displaced
under-aged garment workers so that they could develop their necessary expertise in this area.

SINGER-Channel i Bravery Award : Kingbodonti 2012 at Celebrity Hall of Bangbabandhu International Conference
Center on 14 November, 2012

35

Employment to the Underprivileged : UCEP (Underprivileged children's Education Program)

works with the underprivileged children for their betterment which is done by providing technical
training on different trades. On completion of this training the trainees are absorbed in different
organizations. Singer can proudly say that all the assembly crew working at Singer Manufacturing
Complex are from UCEP. Recruiting from UCEP is an on-going process.
Mother & Child Health Awareness & Daily Clinic at Remote Areas
Considering the poor-scenario in the rural health sector, Singer Bangladesh has taken up an
initiative for making a significant improvement in the lives of many rural people and bringing smile
to many. Singer Bangladesh has partnered with one of Fareea Lara Foundation's project to provide
Health Education and Primary Health Care to Rural Children and Women. By 2009, Singer
Bangladesh provided Ultra Sonogram, X -ray and ECG machines to the hospital for proper diagnosis
and treatment of the patients. Under the direct supervision of the medical centre, 12 Village Health
Workers (VHW) and 12 Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) have been recruited from 12 different
villages. Eventually 3 VHW and 3 TBA would be provided six months advance training at an NGO
KOINNIA by Singer Bangladesh.
Upon completion of the advance training they would return to their work place and train their
fellow workers. In the long run they would be able to earn their livelihood by prescribing and
suggesting treatment to the poor by charging nominal fees.
Table Tennis Development at School Level
Singer Bangladesh Limited as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has teamed up with
Bangladesh Table Tennis Players' Society (BTTPS), to promote the sports among school students
from April, 2010.
Singer-Channel I Bravery Award : Kingbodonti
SINGER Bangladesh Limited in association with media partner Channel I, has introduced SINGERCHANNEL I BRAVERY AWARD: KINGBODONTI, first of its kind in the country, from 2011. The objective
of this award is to recognize and honor brave souls of the country who are making a difference
through their selfless acts.
Other Activities : Singer, as part of its social commitment, has been extending its support to a
number of social projects in different forms. Singer also contributes to the promotion of sports and
culture in Bangladesh. The donation of Singer products to various institutions works for the
betterment of the under privileged people, which Singer views as its corporate responsibility. In
addition to this, Singer has been donating its products to organizations that are engaged in social
welfare activities.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : Last year singer's Paid up Capital
was 392680000 BDT, Yearly turnover approximately: BDT : 546123000000(2011) and donates
15300000.BDT for CSR activity.
Major Contribution in CSR : Training programme, Health Education and Primary Health Care to
Rural Children and Women, Art and culture.

36

8. Summit Power Limited

Company profile: Summit Power Limited (SPL), sponsored by Summit Group, is the first Bangladeshi
Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Bangladesh in private sector providing power to national
grid. SPL was incorporated in Bangladesh on March 30, 1997 as a Private Limited Company. On June
7, 2004 the Company was converted to Public Limited Company under the Companies Act 1994. It's
registered address is 18 Kawran Bazar C/A, Dhaka -1215, Bangladesh .The company employ 300
employee's. Most of them are male because female staffs are not interested working in power
plant. It's company's registered/paid-up capital BDT 3943.60 million (Annual Report: 2011).
CSR definition : Company Secretary Mr. Mahamud Hasan said, `our business understands by
Corporate Social Responsibility is that a` business corporation should not run for only profit
maximizing they have some social responsibility'.
CSR activities : Summit Power Limited supports a number of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) as well as carries out social and humanitarian activities on its own as a part of its social
responsibility. Some such notable events are as follows - Over the last 12 years to promote
professional golfers in our country, Summit Group has been organizing a golf tournament for them.
By organizing the Professional-Amateur golf tournaments, Summit Group has provided a platform
for the professional golfers to enhance their skills and expose their talents at national and
international levels. You will be pleased to know your company is one of the early supporters of Mr.
Siddiqur Rahman now an international golfer with a global repute.
Friendship
Friendship is a value-based organization founded in Bangladesh in 1998, which identifies and
reaches the poorest of the poor and the most marginalized communities. The project intends to
bring about positive changes among the livelihoods of the target population through
smoothening of income generating activities and improved access to other basic needs. These
areas are completely off grid from conventional electricity supplies and other essential utilities.
To maintain the continuation of this project, this year our Company sponsored an amount of Tk.
2,771,000/- to support this deprived part of the country.

Summit donate Ashokti Punorbashon Nibash (APON), which has brought light back to hundreds of men and women whose lives
have been darkened by drug abuse. Under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Summit Group, Friendship has
started implementing the project to provide the char people of Gaibandha access to solar electricity.

SEID Trust
SEID Trust is a non-governmental voluntary development organization working for social inclusion
and promoting rights of underprivileged children with disabilities including intellectual and
multiple disabilities as well as autism since 2003.To maintain the continuation of such
philanthropic project , this year our Company sponsored an amount of Tk. 13,43,750/- to support
this deprived part of the community.

37

Siraj Khaleda Memorial Hospital in Dhaka Cantonment

This hospital has been set up to provide health care, high quality medical care and facility to the
distressed and underprivileged people. Summit provides continuous support to Siraj-Khaleda Trust.
The Trust is constructing a 200-bed civil hospital at a cost of TK 12 (Twelve) crore in two phases on
the land provided by Cantonment board. A provision of expansion up to 300 beds is also
considered. After completion of construction of the hospital it will be handed over to the
Cantonment board to manage and operate it. The Trust also provides educational and
rehabilitation support to the economically disadvantaged people of Bangladesh.
Others
Summit Power Limited is also involved with the Prothom Alo Trust Board. This trust is involved in
many social activities like sponsoring books to community schools & colleges and plantation
programs for the people of the community.
We have been continuing our financial support to the meritorious students of the underprivileged
community. Our company also supports the development of higher studies as well by sponsoring
different events at the University of Dhaka.
Our company understands its responsibility to reduce the gender inequality and continues to
support related bodies through different means. Karmojibi Nari (KN) is one of such organization.
Summit Power Limited gives donations to the Acid Survivor's Foundation that supports survivors
of brutal attacks. The ultimate goal of the organization is to eliminate acid violence in Bangladesh.
Summit believes in the eagerness, strength and compassion amongst the youth and aims to boost
up the spirit within the Bangladeshi youth. To inspire them, we support and sponsor North Alpine
Club Bangladesh - NACB.
Our company also participated in sponsorship of different events, like
- Daily Star Leadership Colloquium on 'New Technology & Alternative Energy', Meet
BangladeshAsia's Next Big Opportunity, Ashokti Punorbshon Nibash (APON), Jatiya Press Club
Picnic, Zonta Club of Dhaka Charity Work.
On environmental issues, our Company gives high priority to protecting the environment and our
humble efforts in this regard include extensive number of sapling plantation in the Company's
power plants and neighboring places. Our state-of-the art power plants comply with the
requirements of relevant environmental regulatory bodies. Thus these plants emit relatively less
pollutants to the environment. Moreover, your company has already taken initiatives for ISO 14001:
2004 - Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation and certification, which is
expected to be completed by next year.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity: The Company's Paid up Capital
394,360,000,000 BDT, Yearly turnover approximately: BDT: 475,721,000,000 (Annual Report: 2011)
and sponsored an amount of Tk. 1 crore 20 lacs to support of the community development.
Major Contribution in CSR: Summit Power's Major Contribution in CSR is under privileged and
disable Child rights, Health

38

9. TITAS GAS T&D CO. LTD

Company profile: Titas Gas T&D Co. Ltd. which was earlier established as a joint stock company
with 90% share capital of the Govt. of Pakistan naturally vested to the Govt. of the People's
Republic of Bangladesh and the rest 10% share capital of Pakistan Shell Oil Company was
transferred to the newly formed Bangladesh Shell Oil Company. During 1975, under the
nationalization program, Govt. has brought back 10% share of Shell Oil Co. and Titas Gas T&D Co.
Ltd. has become a 100% Government owned Company. Meanwhile, during August1974,
Bangladesh Oil & Gas Corporation/Petrobangla and during October 1975, Ministry of Energy &
Mineral Resources had been formed. TGTDCL has been placed under the administrative control of
the newly formed ministry along with Petro bangla and its subsidiary Companys.
The company has 2448(Up to the Sep.2012) employees, 2283 of them are male and 165 of them
female. It's total registered/paid-up capital 942,120,000,000 BDT (2010-11, Annual Report), and it's
approximate yearly turnover BDT : 68,551,233,852 BDT (2010-11).
CSR definition: Mr. Md. Munir Hossain Khan, Deputy General Manager said, `Any voluntary role of
business in contributing to a better society, is called CSR activity'.
CSR activities : At present Titas Gas T&D Co. Ltd. has no external Corporate Social Responsibility
activity. But there is a budget for Social Responsibility Expenses. This expenditure is totally
arranged for TITAS staffs. During 2010-11 Titas spent 37741943 BDT for social responsibility. Titas
Company has a School named Titas Adarshya Biddloy in Damra Sarulia. At 2010-11 the school
expended10900000000 BDT.
Titas Company has several in house Social Responsibility esponsibility activities which are over and
above the labour act. Like

Education : Titas Gas Education Scholorship & Financial Assistance Programme

Loan : Land purches, house building, motorcycle purches.

Religious allowance

Entertainment and Sports

Health benefits : The employees of the company are given health allowance as per
government rules. Free health services are provided to the employees and their
dependents in 15 selected Hospitals.
Employee Welfare : The company undertakes various motivational activities to improve human
values, mutual understanding, interpersonal relationship and loyalty among the officers and
employees. In the year 2011-12 the company arranged the following social, cultural, religious and
entertainment programmes on regular basis:
Education : Employee's dependants who come out successful at secondary, higher secondary,
graduation and postgraduation level are granted scholarships under "Titas Gas Education
Scholarship & Financial Assistance Programme". Under this programme a total of 252 students
received scholarships at different levels within the year under review. In 1987, "Titas Gas Adarsha
Uchcha Biddyaloya" was established at the premises of Titas Gas Office at Demra.
Loan : In line with government policy for promotion of information technology, loans are granted
for the welfare of the employees as per budget allocation for land purchase, house building,
motorcycle purchase in the tune of Tk. 48.84 crore and also for computer purchase in the tune of
Tk. 6.60 lacs during FY 2011-12.

39

The company handing over a cheque of Tk. 10 Lacs as donation to Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman for Liberation War
Museum Construction Fund as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme of the Company.

Religious Programme : As in the previous year, Milad Mehfil was also arranged on the occasion of
'Eid-E-Mildunnabi' at Demra Residential Complex Mosque during the year under review. Apart from
this, funeral assistance amounting to Tk. 10,000.00 per family was granted to the families of 19
employees who expired while in service of the Company in 2011-12, the total amount donated was
Tk.1.90 lac only.
Entertainment and Sports : Tiats Club regularly takes part in the Premier Volley Ball League of
Bangladesh Volley Ball Federation. Titas club won Championship title twice and Runner-up title for
4 times.
Health, Environment and Safety : Natural gas is an environment friendly energy. It has been
playing an important role in the economic development of the country. Safe use of natural gas is of
paramount importance. For this reason, safety of different stations and environmental activities
including the safety of gas pipelines and stations, health and safety of the people who are engaged
in system operation and maintenance are given due importance. The following actions are
undertaken in respect of health, environment and safety:
Health : The employees of the company are given health allowance as per Government rule. The
physicians of the company provide health services to the employees and their dependants. At the
cost of the company, the employees and their dependants are given outdoor treatments and
emergency health care at BSMMU under a contract between the company and BSMMU. Medical
services are also being provided in 15 selected hospitals.
Environment : To preserve the environmental balance, a large no. of trees were planted at different
installations of the company under "Tree Plantation Programme" during the year under review.

40

Prof. Dr. Md. Hussain Monsur, Chairman, Petrobangla and Md. Abdul Aziz Khan, Managing Director
of the company handing over a cheque of Tk. 10 Lacs as donation to Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman for
Liberation War Museum Construction Fund as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Programme of the Company.
Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : It's approximate yearly turnover
BDT : 68551233852 BDT(2010-11) and As a part of Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of
the Company Tk. 3.00 lac was donated to the family of a deceased employee who was appointed
by outsourcing, Tk. 0.65 lac was donated to Dutta High scholl, Netrokona, for purchasing projector
and Tk 10.00 lac was donated to Muktjuddho Jadughar, Dhaka.
Labour act comply : Company completely follows the labour act, even though they didn't practice
fire drill once a year.

10. Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.

Company profile : Nestl Bangladesh Limited started its first commercial production in
Bangladesh in 1994. March 12, 1995 it incorporated as a public limited company and the bank
received its license from Bangladesh on March 23, 1995. Nestl Bangladesh's factory is situated at
Sripur, 55 km north of Dhaka, the factory produces instant noodles, cereals and repacks milks,
soups, beverages and infant nutrition products. Registered address detail: Gulsan Tower(4th Floor),
Plot no.31, Road No,53 , Gulsan North C/A, Dhaka- 1212, Bangladesh. Nestly currently employs 600
people directly in the company and another 1000 people indirectly in the industry. 11% female. Its
total authorized capital is TK1.5 billion and total paid up capital is TK 1.1 billion
(http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/bitstream/handle/10361/1621/Shihan%20Sazid.pdf?sequence=1).
Nestl does not publish financial report to the public.
CSR definition : Mirza Golum Hossain,Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs and Communication
Defines CSR as,`Nestl's own style of CSR-to create value for shareholders and society
simultaneously, in a manner that is integrally linked to their core business strategies and
operations," For a company to be successful in the long term and create value for its shareholders, it
must also create value for society. Creating Shared Value(CSV) encourages businesses to create
economic and social value simultaneously by focusing on the social issues that they are uniquely
capable of addressing. CSV builds on a strong base of performance in environmental sustainability
and compliance, as illustrated in the CSV Pyramid above. In addition, we recognise the vital role of
our people and the importance of engaging and collaborating with other organisations'.
CSR activities : In 2006, Nestl became the first organisation to adopt CSV approach, but their
history of working together with society stems back to our roots. For maximum impact, Nestl has
focused its Creating Shared Value efforts and investments on three areas - Nutrition, Water and
Rural development. Nestl always focused on long term, sustainable and profitable growth and
helped communities around its operation to improve its quality of life in a similar manner. That is
why Nestl says ?Creating Shared Value? rather than corporate social responsibility. In the process
of delivering shared value the company first of all puts emphasis on the compliance, where they
remain compliant to the local and international law then it focuses on it's sustainably as a business
organization and finally contributes for creating shaded value.
Nestl is currently working to secure safe drinking water, provide education and training to
develop skilled manpower. In a country like Bangladesh, Nestl is arranging the safe drinking water,
where the sources of the pure drinking water are rare; currently this program is organized for the
factory workers and their family members in Sreepur. This particular initiative is also active in India
and other countries.

41

NESTLE WATER TANK FOR

SCHOOL
CHILDREN
AT
GAZIPUR SRIPUR (Established
near Nestle factory for close
monitoring)

Nestl supports initiatives to create awareness about the right to education and encourages the
communities around its factories to send their children to school. That is why the company already
builds up several schools for the workers' children of the factory. Moreover Nestl Bangladesh from
2009 started to distribute laptops among the school going children to make chance for the
students to get modern education, already 49 schools have been covered under this initiative. On
the other hand Nestl India employees have developed a special play 'Let Us Go to School' for this
purpose. This has been staged amongst the communities around the factories, and its recordings
screened at smaller gatherings even in Bangladesh. "Much of our CSR initiatives in the country
centers around proper sanitation and access to clean drinking water, two areas which could be
identified as the quite essential prerequisites for leading a healthy life" Giving access to computer
technology- a basic educational requirement of these days, to rural school students is another area
on which Nestle CSR initiatives are based on.
In line with that, the company has also donated computers to a total of 49 schools in rural areas for
use in the school laboratories, the authority said."The nature of our CSR activities is such that the
initiated projects go through extensive subsequent monitoring on our behalf and things such as
proper maintenance are assured"
Labour act comply : Nestl is providing enough space to its employees to take an active part in
the life of the community or by assuming responsibilities in professional, civic, cultural, religious or
voluntary organizations. Nestl believes that any activity during working hours has to be first
approved by the company. Nestl Bangladesh maintain a stable compensation structure in
compare to the other corporate of Bangladesh. Compensation in the different levels of the
employment always remains equal to or above the market benchmark. Compensation practice
takes relevant external compensation levels as well as the requirement of internal fairness.

42

11. Textile & Garments Sector:

Babylon Group
Babylon Group (BG) started its journey in 1986 with one company and 140 employees and
expanded to 14 companies with 12,000 skilled employees. Babylon Group is involved in: woven
wear manufacturing; knit wear manufacturing; washing plant; printing house; knitting unit; dyeing
and finishing of knitted fabrics; embroidery; trims manufacturing; paper converting and packaging;
apparel trading etc., apart from a fashion wear retailing outlets to satisfy the growing local demand.
Babylon Group has one of the finest production facilities in Bangladesh that far exceed the
minimum standards set up by international regulators and is often showcased as an example of a
responsible corporate citizen of Bangladesh. Company's Registered address is 2-B/1, Darussalam
Road, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216. Companies registered/paid-up capital BDT 297,400,000.
CSR definition : Mr. Mohammed Hasan, General Manager Babylon Group defines CSR as,`We
understand by CSR that 'the obligation of the firm to use its resources in ways to benefit society,
through committed participation as a member of society, taking into account the society at large
and improving the welfare of society at large independent of direct gains of the company'
CSR activity : Within the CSR programme, Babylon Group provides scholarship programme in
support of underprivileged students, health-care facilities at each of its factories and plants
including details of blood donation programmes and health camps, development initiatives for
disadvantaged children such as drawing training and handwriting competitions, natural disaster
relief and rehabilitation assistance and donations, and entertainment and welfare programmes
aimed at improving the working conditions of its employees which include financial assistance for
employees' children. BG acknowledges the potential threat its particular form of business
operations pose to the environment and it mentions mitigation action it has undertaken.
Consistent with legitimacy theory predictions, BG has responded to the perceived need to mitigate
concerns about its business operations and to maintain its social contract by providing broad
disclosure of its sustainability activities and programmes.


Medical Service where workers of the group along with the people of that area receive
necessary health care at a subsidized price in Babylon Medical Center at Hamayetpur,
Savar.
Babylon, strives to provide world class service and the best value to their customers. They
thrive for excellence and work for ensuring a pleasant, clean and professional working
condition for our employees and the people we do business with.
Specialist Health Camp on June 07, 2012" We ware pleased to let you know that Babylon
Medical Services (A sister concern of Babylon Group) organized a Free health camp on
June 07, 2012 from 9am-5pm.
Babylon Scholarship Distribution Ceremony 2012" Babylon Shikkha Britti Prokalpa
(scholarship project) is a part of its CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities. Babylon
Group celebrated its Scholarship Distribution Ceremony 2012 on 20th October 2012. This
year Babylon offered scholarship to 51 talented but under privileged students of the
country.
Visitors from Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Dhaka Office Visited the CSR
activities of Babylon Group on 2nd March 2012. First secretary, SRHR, Education and
Gender, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ms. Ella de Voogd recently visited
Softy a CSR (Corporate Social Culture) project of Babylon Group. On 2nd March 2012, Ms.
Ella along with the Advisor SRHR and Gender, Kingdom of the Netherlands Ms. Mushfiqua
Z. Sattar and Technical Officer Maternal Health, WHO, Dr. Jyoti Reddy visited Softy, a project

43

The CSR activities of Babylon Group have been the reflection of its social commitments. The group has been active
to ensure a better living for its employees as well as the community. Babylon Group patronizes underprivileged yet
talented students of the country in order to offer them equal opportunity of a bright future. The Group managed to
reach out to a number of those champion performers in hardship and offered scholarships to them for higher
education.The initiatives of Babylon in this regard has been awarded and accredited by the Ministry of Labor,
Government of Bangladesh, BGMEA and BKMEA.

of producing low cost Sanitary Napkin by Babylon Group and took a tour of some of the
factories of the Group. They watched different projects on CSR of it and met workers,
management staff and Directors of the Group. Babylon Director Mr. Emdadul Islam and Mr.
Abidur Rahman, General Manager Admin Mr. Mohammad Hasan and Public Relation
Manager Mr. Shamimul Islam accompanied them.
Babylon Group distributed warm cloth among cold affected people at ShamNogor (Aaila
affected area) under Shatkhira District.

Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity : Last year Companies Yearly
turnover approximately: BDT 131,000, 000 and budget for CSR activities was not mentioned.

12. Food and Allied Sector: Gemini Sea Food Limited

Company Profile : Gemini Sea Food Ltd., a leading shrimp processing factory, came into being in
the year 1982. Since their inception they have produced, processed, packed and exported the
highest quality traditional block frozen shrimps. Gemini Sea Food Limited is a sister concern of
Gemcon Group. Gemcon's journey began with the formation of Castle Construction in 1979 by its
founder Kazi Shahid Ahmed. The factory of Gemini group is established in Jabusha, Rupsha, Khulna9241, Bangladesh. Phone +880-41-80015, 800415, 800416 Fax: +880-41-800361.
CSR definition : Chief Operating Officer Mr. M. Mustaque Amin defines CSR, `We actually believe
that if our work does not harm to the local people and if we contribute something good for our
society that is CSR in our vision. It is true that if a company honestly does something for the society
automatically its image will increase. We believe that caring for our social environment is as
important as looking after our natural environment. Through our extensive social projects, we
support our workers and reach out to our neighbors.

44

CSR activity : Actually we do not practice CSR separately. But as a group we donate a lot when it
needed. We did it in two ways, one is organized way. We are a sister concern of a nonprofit
organization that is Kaji Foundation (KSF), all our group entity funded in KSF. Another way of
contribution is adhoc bases. But it is a show of culture that if a company contributes something for
social development they eagerly waited for publicity, but our company never thinks like that.
Poverty alleviation through cattle rearing & social projects. Via our cooperative we encourage
villagers to rear organic cattle. Our interest-free loans, in the form of cows, are paid back in longterm installments through the selling of milk, cow dung and calves. In this way, local farmers can
rapidly become self-reliant and self- sufficient entrepreneurs.
This cooperative is supported in Bangladesh by the KK Tea brand, and abroad by the Teatulia brand
of teas. We support and encourage young boys and girls in outdoor sports. Sports equipment such
as footballs, volleyballs, cricket bats, and carram boards are distributed free of cost to primary and
secondary schools, and local clubs at our farm. Hygienic latrines are a basic prerequisite for
sanitation. So from the very beginning of our tea plantation we have distributed safe latrines
amongst our workers and poor villagers around our area.
These latrines are distributed free of cost and all technical support is provided by our experienced
personnel. Latrine distribution has been one of the most successful ways to quickly and simply
improve the health conditions of the area.

Is a sister concern of Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd. Children

of workers can live better lives, Female worker learning
how to read & write, Local kids learning computers in IT
Center

45

Last year Company's turnover and budget for CSR activity:

7.2 Annex: Responsible Person's address
SL

Company Name

Responsible
Person

Designation

Company Address

Contact Number

1.

Apex Tennary

Jagadis Kumar
Bhanja

Company
Secretary

127 Hajaribagh T/A,

Dhaka-1209
Bangladesh

880-2-8622097

2.

Apex Adelchi Footwear

Limited

Md. Moinul
Ahasan

House # 6, Road #
Group Head of
Human Resources 137, Block SE(D),
Gulshan-1, Dhaka1212, Bangladesh

3.

BRAC Bank Ltd.

Zeeshan
Kingshuk Huq

1 Gulshan Avenue,
Head of
Communication & Gulshan 1, Dhaka
1212 , Bangladesh
Service Quality

4.

Beximco Pharma

Fairuze
Chowdhury

Executive,
Business
Development

19, Dhanmondi R/A,

Road no, 7, Dhaka1207, Bangladesh

5.

Babylon Group Ltd.

Mohammad
Hasan

General Manager

2-b/1, Darussalam
880-2-9023495
Road, Mirpur, Dhaka1216, Bangladesh

6.

Grameenphone Ltd.

Debashis Roy

Head of Corporate
Responsibility
Communication
Divission

GP House
Basundhara,
Baridhara, Dhaka1209,Bangladesh

880-2-9882970

7.

IDLC Finance Limited

Ms. Zurat Haque Manager CSR

Department

Bay's Galleria (1st

Floor) 57 Gulshan
Avenue, Dhaka
1212Bangladesh

880-2-8834990

8.

Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.

Mr. Mirza Golum Senior Manager,

Hossain
Corporate Affaire
and
Communication

Gulsan Tower(4th
Floor), Plot no.31,
Road No,53 , Gulsan
North C/A, Dhaka1212, Bangladesh

880-2-9882759

9.

SINGER Bangladesh Ltd. Mr. Mohammad

Sanaullah

10.

Summit Power Limited

Mr. Mahamud
Hasan

11.

TITAS GAS T&D CO. LTD.

Mr. Md. Munir

Hossain Khan

46

880-2-8820300

880-2-8619151-5

Director,
39 DILKUSA C/A
880-2-08813415
Corporate Affair & DHAKA-1000,
Company
Bangladesh
Secretary
18 Kawran Bazar C/A, 880-2-9137485-6
Company
Dhaka -1215,
Secretary
Bangladesh
Deputy General
Manager

105 Kazi Nazrul Islam 880-2-8118941

Avenue ,Kawran
Bazar, Commercial
Area, Dhaka1212,Bangladesh

7.3 Annex : Semi Structured Questionnaire (Responsible Person)

Research on CSR Practice in Bangladesh
Safety and Rights Society
14/23 Babor Road, Mohammadpur
Dhaka-1207
CSR Questionnaire for Manager/Responsible Person
Name :
Position:
Age:
Education:
Company Details
1. Name of company:
2. Registered address detail:
3. How many employees does your company employ?

Male

Female

4. What is your company's registered/paid-up capital (Annual Report)?

5. What is your company's approximate yearly turnover (Annual Report)?
Yearly turnover approximately: BDT/USD/GBPCSR and practice
6. I have seen what has been written in your annual report/letter to us about Corporate Social
Responsibility. Could you please explain to me what your business understands by Corporate Social
Responsibility?
7. Over and above what is written in the annual report/letter, are there any other corporate social
responsibility activities that you undertake?
8. Have you ever undertaken an estimate of the annual cost of all your corporate social
responsibility activities?
9. Question about specific CSR activities that the company has been carrying out. (After analysing
the annual report/letter/other information - need to ask questions about each of the CSR activities
they mention in order to find out further details about how the activities operate etc)
10. Which would you say was your most successful CSR activity, and which is the least successful.
Please explain the reasons for why you think this is the case
11. Why do you undertake these activities? What is your purpose for doing them?
12. Do you think the company gains by undertaking these activities? If so in what way?
13. How important are the CSR activities that you undertake to enhancing the image of the
company?
14. Are you in general satisfied about the way you undertake CSR activities? If not, why not?
15. Does the company promote to a wider public the fact that it is undertaking these CSR activities?
If so in what way?

47

16. Do you have a plan to reduce or increase the number of CSR activities that you undertake? If so
why and how? If not, why not?
17. Do you involve any of your suppliers or buyers in your CSR activities? If so, how?
18. How does the company decide to undertake particular CSR activities and not others? Is it ad
hoc, or planned? Annual basis? At board level? Is there a theme?
19. Do you have a separate department or unit involved in CSR activities? If so, please explain how
it works, who is involved in it etc? Is this the only think the unit does?
20. If there is no specific unit, who is involved in organizing and implementing CSR activities?
21. Do you obtain any advice from any other organisations about CSR activities?
22. Have you faced any type of impediment or hurdles in implementing CSR activities in your
business? Yes
No
If yes, please explain briefly.

48

7.3 Annex: Semi Structured Questionnaire (Worker)

Research on CSR Practice in Bangladesh
Safety and Rights Society
14/23 Babor Road, Mohammadpur
Dhaka-1207
Questionnaire for Workers
Demographic
Company Name & Address:
Name:
Position:
Age:
Education:
Number of employee: Male:

Female:

Employment Standards
1. How many years you have been working here?
2. Did you receive any appointment letter?

Yes No

3. Types of employment: a) Apprentice, b) Substitute, c) Part-time, d) Temporary, e) Trainee, and, f )

Permanent
4. Do you have any master-roll or temporary worker?

Yes No

If yes, how many?

5. Is there any fixed Working Hour?

Yes No.

If yes, except overtime how many hours you have to work a day?
6. Have any overtime?

Yes No.

If yes, how many hours you have to work a week (average)?

7. Do you get holiday like: weekly ------ day, yearly-------- days, other---------?
8. Do you get leave like: casual leave------, sick leave-----, yearly leave-------, maternity leave with
benefit------, other ---------------------?
9. Is there any employee age under 18?

Yes No

If yes, how many?

10. Does your company have any employment policy/rule?
Occupational Safety and Health
11. Do you have any orientation regarding Occupational Health like cleanliness, dust, light, heat,
ventilation, house keeping etc? Yes No
12. Do you have separate toilet for female workers?

Yes No

13. Do you have any orientation regarding safety of your work?

14. Does your company do any fire drill in every year?

Yes No

Yes No

49

15. Have your company ever faced any accident?

Yes No

If yes, when and what type of accident?

16. Do you have any health care facilities like: doctor,
etc?
Yes No

medicine, first aid box, health insurance

If yes, tick the options.

Welfare and Social Protection:
17. Do you have any rest room, canteen, childcare centre etc? Yes No
If yes, mark those.
18. Do you get any benefit like provident fund, gratuity, festival allowance, performance bonus,
pension, welfare fund, etc?
Yes No
If yes, mark those.
19. Does your company share any profit with you?
If yes, how usually? Half Yearly, Yearly

Yes No

Occasionally

Compensation
20. Does your company pay compensation if any accident happens?
Labour Relations
21. Is there any trade union?

Yes No

If no, why?
22. Is there any participation committee (according to section 205 of labour act)? Yes No
23. Did any worker file any case before Labour Court to realize his/her benefit? Yes No
If yes, in which labour (1, 2, or 3) court and for what?
24. Did the company establish any contributory and welfare fund?
If yes, did anyone get benefit from that fund?

Yes No

Yes No

If yes, how much?

25. Do you have any idea about CSR activities that your company has been carrying out? Yes No
If yes, what are those?

50

7.4 Annex : 50 Company's Address

PREMIER BANK : PREMIER BANK ( The Premier Bank Ltd. )IQBAL CENTRE (4th Floor), 42 Kemal
Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka-1213 Tel : 880-2-9887581-84, 8811417, 9890591-2, 8819916,
9890547, 9890012, 8825614, Mobile : 01711826047, 01711595718, Fax : 880-2-8815393, 9889153,
Telex : 642542 Email : [email protected]
TRUST BANK : ( Trust Bank Limited ),Peoples Insurance Bhaban ,36, Dilkusha C/A(2nd, 16th & 17th
Floor), Dhaka-1000 , Tel: 9570261, 9570263, 9572012-3, Call: 8712951-5 EXT-333, Fax: 880-2-9572315,
Email: [email protected]
AB BANK : Fazlur Rahman ABBANK( AB Bank Limited )President & Managing Director ,BCIC Bhaban,
30-31 Dilkusha C/A, Dhaka 1000, Phone: +88-02-9560312, Fax: +88-02-9564122, 23, Email:
[email protected]
BRAC Bank Limited Ltd : BRAC Bank Limited,1 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan -1, Dhaka 1212, 880-2-885
9202
CITYBANK : CITYBANK (City Bank )City Bank Center 136, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan-2
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh, Hunting numbers: 02 8813483, 8814375, 8813126,Fax: 02 9884446, Web:
www.thecitybank.com.bd
2. List of Companies : Food & Allied-4
AMCL (PRAN) : AMCL (PRAN), 52-53, Dilkusha C/A, (level-15) Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Tel: +880-29513911-15 Fax: +880-2-9513906
Fine Foods Limited : Mansur Alam, Executive Director, Fine Foods Limited, Block.# A, Road # 02
House # 12,( 1st Floor ), Nobodoy Housing Society, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207. Branch phone:
01926-76 64 69 Branch Fax: 880 - 02 - 9552164
Gemini Sea Food Ltd.: Lt. Col. Kazi Shahed Ahmed (Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director, Gemini
Sea Food Ltd. Meena House; 719, Sat Mosszid Road Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1209 Tel: (880-2) 9138242-3
Fax: (880-2) 9115242 E-mail : [email protected]
MEGCONMILK (Meghna Condensed Milk) : Mohammed Shahed Ali (Managing Director) ,
MEGCONMILK( Meghna Condensed Milk )Commercial Cov (7th Floor), House # 56/C, Road # 132,
Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1212. (East Side of Washington Hotel) Contact Phone: 9882515, 9893011,
9862217 E-mail: [email protected] Web Address: http://www.mgoldbd.com
3. List of Companies : Engineering: 5 Address
BSRMSTEEL (BSRM Steels Limited) : Mr. Alihussain Managing Director, BSRM Steels Limited,
Mahabub Castle (2nd & 4th Floor), 35/A Purana Paltan Line, Inner Circular Road (VIP), Dhaka-1000.
(031)-2854901-10, (02) 8311994, 8313135, 9358135, Fax:88-031-610101, (02) 8312905 E-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], Web Address: http://www.bsrm.com
NAVANACNG (Navana CNG Limited) : Mr. Saiful Islam,Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Islam
chamber (4th Floor),125/A,Motijheel Commercial Area, Dhaka-1000, Contact Phone: 9552212, Fax:
[email protected],WebAddress: http://www.navanacng.com

51

NPOLYMAR (National Polymer) : Mr. Riad Mahmud ( Managing Director) Rubaiyat House, House #
15, Level # 1, Road # 24, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212
RANFOUNDRY (Rangpur Foundry) : Mahtabuddin Ahmed, Managing Director PRAN-RFL Centre,
105/1 Ga, Middle Badda, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh (8802) 9881792 ,Fax: 88 - 02 - 8837464 ,E-mail:
[email protected],Web Address:http://www.rangpurfoundry.com
SINGER BANGLADESH LIMITED : M. Hamim Rahmatullah Chief Executive Officer, 39, SINGER
BANGLADESH LIMITED Dilkusha Commercial Area Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh ,Corporate Office:
House: 5B, Road No: 126, Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1219. Contact Phone: (8802) 9564438, 8813415, 825864
Fax:
88 - 02 - 9564431, 8858 247E-mail: [email protected] Address:
http://www.singer.bd.com
4. List of Companies : Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals=5
Beximco Pharmaceuticals : Mr. Nazmul Hassan ,Managing Director, Director Beximco
Pharmaceuticals 19 Dhanmondi R/A ,Road No. 7 Dhaka 1205 Bangladesh. Telephone: +880-2-8619
151 (5 lines) Fax: +880-2-8613 888 and +880-2-9663 579
ACTIVEFINE (Active Fine Chemicals Limited) : S.M. Saifur Rahman. Managing. Director.
ACTIVEFINE( Active Fine Chemicals Limited ) Active Fine Chemicals Limited, Tanaka Tower ( 2nd
Floor), 42/1/Gha, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka-1000.
LIBRAINFU (Libra Infusions Limited) : Ayesha Alam, Managing director I/7, Mirpur Industrial
Estate, Rupnagar Section-2, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh. 9001179, 9004770-1, 8012534, 8012536 Fax
(880-2) 8015833 ,Web Site www.libragroupbd.com, Email address [email protected]
ORIONINFU (Orion Infusion Ltd.) : Mr. Mohammad Obaidul Karim Managing Director Orion
House, 153-154 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh Tel: +88.02.8870133, 8870134 ,Fax:
+88.02.8870108
RECKITTBEN (Reckitt Benckiser(Bd.)Ltd.) : Rakesh Kapoor CEO, Plot 2(B) Block SE(C) Rd. 138,
Gulsham-1 , Dhaka, 1212 , Bangladesh, 880 02 988 7209 Fax: 880 02 988 7354
5. List of Companies : Services & Real Estate: 4
OCL (Ocean Containers Limited) : Syed Ali Jowher Rizvi ,Deputy Managing Director. Summit
Centre 7th Floor Dhaka, -- 1215 ,Bangladesh Phone: 880 2 913 0845 Fax: 880 2 913 0853
EHL (Eastern Housing) : Dhiraj Malakar, Managing Director ,Eastern Housing Ltd 125/A Motijheel
C/A, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh Phone: 880-2-9566303 , Fax: 880-2-9566311
www.easternhousing.com
SAMORITA (Samorita Hospital) : Dr. A. B. M. Haroon, Managing Director, Address: 89/1,
Panthapath, Dhaka - 1215, Contact Phone: (8802) 9131901, Fax: 88 - 02 - 9129971,samorita@
bangla.net, Web Address: http://samoritahospital.net
SAPORTL (Summit Alliance Port Limited) : Syed Ali Jowher Rizvi, Managing Director .SAPORTL
Summit Centre, 18 Kawran Bazar C/A, Dhaka-1215 Contact Phone: 88-02-9130845-54 , Fax: 88-028189235 E-mail: [email protected], http://www.saplbd.com

52

6. List of Companies: Tannery Industries : 5

APEXADELFT (Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd.) : Syed Nasim Manzur. Managing Director
Address:Road No.137, House No.06, Block No. SE(D), Gulshan - 1, Dhaka -1212Contact Phone:(8802)
8828258, 8821591, 8820300,Fax:88028813038. E-mail: [email protected], Web Address:
http://www.apexadelchi.com
APEXTANRY (Apex Tannery) : Managing Director. Mr. Syed Manzur Elahi . 127 Hazaribag T/A,Dhaka
- 1209, Contact Phone: 880-2-8622097, 9661679, 862635-7Fax: 880-2-8616567, 8613429, E-mail:
[email protected], Web Address: http://www.apextannery.com
BATASHOE (Bata Shoe) : Muhammad Qayyum, Managing Director Liaison Office: 6,B.B Avenue
(2nd Floor), Dhaka 1000. Registered Office: Tongi Industrial Area, Tongi, Gazipur. Contact Phone:
PABX: 9800501-5 ,Fax: 88 - 02 - 9800511 ,E-mail: N/A ,Web Address: http://www.batabd.com
LEGACYFOOT (Legacy Footwear) : Mohammed Shahed Ali (Managing Director) Address:Robin
Tower
(5th
Floor),
42/43,
Purana
Paltan,
Dhaka-1000.
Contact
Phone:
7114194,7125352,[email protected]:88027120241,E mail:[email protected]
SAMATALETH (Samata Leather Complex Ltd.) : Mr. Arif Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Directors
Samata Leather Complex Ltd. Address: 120, Sher-Bangla Road, Hazaribagh, Dhaka-1209. Contact
Phone: 9662731, 8611102, 8611372, Fax: 88-02-8618360, E-mail: n/a ,Web Address:
7. List of Companies: Textile: 5
APEXSPINN (Apex Spinning & Knitting Mills Limited) : Zahur Ahmed , Zahur Ahmed ,Managing
Director BIMAN BHABAN ( 5TH FLOOR),100, MOTIJHEEL C/A, DHAKA 1000,Phone: +880 029562383,Fax: +880 02-9562387 Website url: www.apexknitting.com
DACCADYE (The Dacca Dyeing & Manufacturing Co.Ltd.) : Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury,
Managing DirectorDacca Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Sharif Mansion, 56-57, Motijheel Commercial
Area (3rd & 4th) Floor, Dhaka - 1000, Tel: 9564601,
DELTASPINN (Delta Spinners Ltd.) : Mostafa Kamal Haider, Managing Director, Delta Spinners Ltd ,
65-66 Motijheel C/A, DCCI Building,7th Floor Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh, hone: 880-2-956-1089, Fax:
880-2-956-0855
DSHGARME (Desh Garmants) : M Mahfizul Huque (Company Secretary).DESH GARMENTS LTD.
Awal Centre 5th Floor, 34 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, ... fax: +880 (2) 882 6049. Company email:
[email protected] ... of garments, particularly trousers and jeans.
SQUARETEXT (Square Textile) : Address Square Centre, 48, Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka - 1212
Telephone (8802) 8827729-38 Fax 88 -02 882876 Web Sihttp://www.square-bd.com, Email address
[email protected]
8. List o Companies : Telecommunication: 2
BSCCL (Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited): Managing Director Monwar Hossain,
BSCCL( Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited ), Telejogajog Bhaban, 37/E, Eskaton
Garden, Dhaka
GP (Grameenphone Ltd.) : Raihan Shamsi , Chief Executive Officer Address : GP House,
Basundhara,Baridhara, Dhaka-1229,Bangladesh Fax- +880-2-9882970 [email protected]

53

7.5 Annex : List of Abbreviations

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

CSRB

CSR Bangladesh

SRB

Sustainable Responsible Business

SRS

Safety and Rights Society

CPD

Centre for Policy Dialogue

CR

Corporate Responsibility

NGO

Non-Government Organization

BEI

Bangladesh Enterprise Institute

BEF

Bangladesh Employers Federation

BGMEA

Bangladesh Garments Manufacture Employers Association

BKMEA

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacture Employers Association

UCEP

Underprivileged Children's Educational Programs

BASF

Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory)

SME

Small and Medium Enterprise

SEID Trust : SEID Trust is a voluntary non-government organization that works for the rights and
social inclusion of underprivileged children with physical and mental disabilities, including autism.
CSR Bangladesh (CSRB) : CSR Bangladesh was established in 2008 to facilitate, expand and
encourage CSR practice in Bangladesh. The CSRB is a nonprofit organization and its objective is to
become the source of information, resources and advisory services on CSR in Bangladesh.
http://www.csrbangladesh.org/index.php
CSR related Certifications in Bangladesh : There are a number of private consultants and NGOs
offering advice on certifications related to CSR for example: SA8000, ISO26000, GRI ma.

54

Promoting Safety, Enforcing Rights

14/23 Babor Road, Block B

Mohammadpur, Dhaka 1207
Tel: +88 02 - 9119903-4
Mobile: +88- 01193 200207, +88- 01191 797414
www.safetyandrights.org
[email protected]